Guillermo del Toro has been outspoken about why he kept his upcoming film, Pacific Rim, in two dimensions when filming, having this to say to Collider:
I didn’t want to make the movie 3D because when you have things that big… the thing that happens naturally, you’re looking at two buildings lets say at 300 feet [away], if you move there is no parallax. They’re so big that, in 3D, you barely notice anything no matter how fast you move. To force the 3D effects for robots and monsters that are supposed to be big you are making their [perspective] miniaturized, making them human scale.
As has become increasingly clear over the years, though, Hollywood is less and less about artistic vision and more about the desire to eek out as much of a profit as humanly possible, even if that means utilizing questionable tactics such as forcing a 3D conversion on a film that is both unwanted and unneeded. That is what is happening here, as Warner Bros. paid no heed to del Toro’s words, showing him whose film this really is.
Come next summer, Pacific Rim will make the move into three dimensions, First Showing reports, a decision driven entirely by misguided greed. Suggestions are that the motivation behind it is to maximize earnings overseas, especially in China where, according to Collider, American films may only play if they happen to be in either 3D or IMAX. Knowing that, it’s understandable why Warner Bros. would force the change, but that doesn’t make it any less depressing a state of affairs.
When Pacific Rim hits theaters next summer, I’ll be right there to see it, but only in 2D as its director intended. It’s sad to think that overseas markets might be robbed of that experience because of the growing emphasis on 3D, which can only be explained using dollar signs, given the fact that I’m still waiting on proof that it’s not just a fad.
At best, it’s a tool of the trade that, with notable exceptions such as Avatar, has not been capitalized upon to enough of a degree to warrant it becoming anything like the new standard in film. However, as is always the case, nothing can stop Hollywood when it sees green.
Will you be seeing Pacific Rim in 3D? Let us know in the comments below.
