Perhaps because I saw the film on dvd at home rather than in 3D at the theatre is why I focused more on the story and its mechanics. On the big screen I could see how many could be easily distracted by the larger-than-life visual spectacle.
Gee, 99.87% of the discussions I've found online harp on the unoriginality of the story.
I saw it opening day just for the
experience of the thing, 'cause I'd never seen a 3D movie before... and it was the most amazing thing I'd ever encountered in a movie theater!
Never cared for one second if the story was lacking.
Everybody in the theater applauded at the end (same as when I saw it a month later!), and a bunch of us (all strangers) sat around after the lights came up, discussing what we'd just seen. Not a single one of them expressed disappointment with the story; they all had awed expressions on their faces.
I want to see it a third time in 3D when it gets re-released in November, but I don't EVER want to see it on a small screen, even if it was in 3D, and I sure as Hell don't want to see it in 2D, regardless of the size of the screen!
I was 8 years old when Steve McQueen's
Le Mans came out (one of the first non-kiddie movies I was taken to), and I've been obsessed with it ever since, because it sucked me into that environment like nothing else I've seen. (Wore out one DVD player from running it on "Loop" for about 2 weeks!)
Critics panned it upon release, saying that it had "no story", but now it's widely considered the
greatest racing film ever made. (Of course, it nearly
destroyed McQueen.)
