John's Movie Musings

3D movies are slowly evolving out of the Gimmick Goo in Hollywood (It's next to the La Brea Tar Pits, for those taking a vacation). The last effort, Journey to the Center of the Earth, took the "Hey! It's 3D! Do it" approach. In these initial stages, that's ok 'cause it's new. Brendan Fraser can spit on people all day but if any other movies do it, people will realize that it's gross and 3D will go the way of the Dodo.

Bolt treats 3D like a good referee. The ones that aren't a distraction and blend themselves seemlessly into the main event. We watch movies for the story, not so we can wear glasses that make us look totally awesome. Well, I look totally awesome in 3D glasses. You don't?

Is this the perfect use of 3D in cinema? Hard to say. Bolt is a animated, talking dog movie. Not exactly high drama, here. Should 3D be used differently in animated features than say, a Western? That makes sense in theory, but we don't have a 3D drama to test. We may have to wait until Avatar next Christmas to get the answer.

So what about Bolt's story? This question can be phrased, "Is Bolt worth watching in 2D?" I say...sure. It's not the funniest movie ever, but the hamster has so many scene steals that it's probably worth watching just for him. There's some good action scenes worth checking out, too. Oh and it's got funny cats. Gotta love funny cats.

It's still in theaters, so see it for the 3D. When it's out on DVD, it's still worth a rental.

Grade: B-