But the Glasses Hurt My Brain!

Ever since James Cameron's Avatar set box office record, there's been a new concept flying around. It was one of the bullets that killed the Spider-Man movie franchise, built up interest in PC gaming again, and became a new reason to make TVs expensive again. All of this happened because 3D became cool again.

New movies are being either created or adapted to be in 3D ever since the financial success of Avatar. Clash of the Titans received the update months before its release along with summer blockbusters like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Shrek Forever, and Toy Story 3. It didn't take long to jump the shark though because this summer we'll be seeing Step Up 3D. If there's one thing that will make my life meaningful, it's seeing bad acting like I'm already there. It's the night of local theater I've secretly dreamed of!

But the 3D train wreck doesn't stop there. The Sony has announced the PS3 will be 3D capable by the end of the year and recently Killzone 3 would also have the capability. This follows the Avatar tie-in game featuring 3D, which seemed like a last minute add-on, and 3D graphics cards for computers. CES 2010 was loaded with new 3D televisions and a 3D version of Avatar for Blu-Ray has been promised. ESPN and Discovery channel have already stated their intentions for 3D stations of their programming. With all this steam, 3D has to be the next wave, right?

Too bad it will take too long to be affordable. You just dropped a big chunk of change on a 3D capable TV? I hope you bought the goggles for it too. Those are a couple hundred on top of the TV. Want to share it with friends? Better buy some extra goggles. I find it hard to spend $60 to buy another PS3 controller to have friends join me in LittleBigPlanet, let alone $200 for the one in one hundred game or movie that will be in 3D. Sorry, dudes, but you better bring your own goggles. Movie theaters are struggling to keep up with new summer blockbusters in IMAX and 3D as they were unprepared for the sudden influx. Avatar will be seeing a second release in August because Fox complained Alice in Wonderland 3D kept it from making more money. 3 months in theaters wasn't enough? As the summer rolls on, Iron Man 2 was already pushed out of IMAX by Shrek Forever after only 2 weeks. With the state of the economy and the theaters, the public is not ready to make the transition to 3D as quickly as it is being pushed. This will cause the 3D movement to burn out as little more than a fad... hopefully.

This brings me to the other concern of the 3D push, sacrificing quality for the sake of a gimmick. Sam Raimi struggled with Sony over Spider-Man 4 being in 3D. Raimi's main argument against it was he knew nothing about it and didn't think he'd be able to make a quality movie with it. For the horrid monster that Spider-Man 3 was, Raimi regained some respect from me for showing some integrity. The Avatar game was panned by critics for its unfinished flaws, yet it manages to sell almost 3 million copies. Nintendo has announced their next handheld system will feature 3D, possibly a worse gimmick than motion control turned out to be, and I'm sure will lead to mountains of shovelware in the following months. Unfortunately, 3D brings in quick money and therefore is quickly becoming the new standard. Soon enough we'll be seeing the likes of Frost/Nixon in 3D, and the part of me that appreciates reason will cry itself to sleep at night with Nixon's nose jammed in its face.

It's yet to be seen if I have a prediction or a dream, but I hope for everyone who enjoys a good story and realizes the medium is just as meaningful as the content that 3D is just a fad. Wait until next summer and we'll see how much life it still has left in it.