u/4DXReviewer

My attempts at doing multi-format premium format reviews for DC superhero films have now been cursed by heatwaves for the second year in a row.

I had intended to do 4DX, ScreenX and IMAX for this one but the air con at Didsbury has broken down, so I tolerated 4DX (the wind effect helped) but my feet were swelling by the end and I couldn’t be bothered to sit through ScreenX as well and then I decided I couldn’t be bothered faffing getting to and from the IMAX in Manchester in the heat and gave up. Please stop releasing your films during the peak of heatwaves, DC!!!

The film itself - ★★★☆☆: I simultaneously thought this was perfectly OK and yet also have no sympathy whatsoever that this is bombing.

This film is basically a Supergirl side-quest where her dog gets poisoned and she has to beat up the bad guy to get the antidote, joined by not-superhero Ruthye, a young teen seeking revenge on the same bad guy for the murder of her family.

It’s fairly fun and there’s action and some attempt at themes and stuff. But it’s also very drab-looking and kind of listless. The stakes feel quite small and even if this wasn’t set to perform badly commercially I’d be surprised if the events of this were ever called back to in future DC films.

Like it’s fine and if you want an excuse to sit in an air conditioned room for a bit (if it’s working!) then go. If you enjoyed The Mandalorian and Grogu and Masters of the Universe, you’ll find this similarly fun.

I just don’t know how you could look at the state of the superhero movie genre these days and think this was a good idea to put out. People want to see something really special if they’re paying a million pounds to take their family and get popcorn and see a premium format or whatever. This is literally just Supergirl doing a sidequest with a not particularly amazing script, not outstanding action and effects sequences and a villain seemly fished out of the bins.

To sum up, it’s OK. It’s Mandalorian and Grogu and Masters of the Universe-tier. Take from that what you will depending on how much you liked those.

The 4DX experience - ★★★☆☆: Unfortunately as a 4DX film, this isn’t on the same tier as Superman.

There are some decent seat movement moments but there are also lengthy sections of the film that don’t call on the effects (it opens quite ominously with multiple scenes where the seats vibrate to diegetic music - I feel like it’s never a good sign when the programmers have to pad out the effects with that). The action bits are pretty decent but not as standout as Superman and some recent films - I wasn’t like ‘woah, this seat movement makes it a must-see in 4DX’.

In terms of water there’s a very brief rain to represent what I think was supposed to be a spaceship’s engine and a couple of water sprays representing spittle and such.

Wind pops up a bit representing movement, although with no air con there wasn’t really any hot and cold for me. Scent pops with a kind of tangy scent in a space bus scene. There’s also some airburst for gun type stuff. I think the strobe popped up once.

There was no fog in my screening but I have to assume it was because the air con wasn’t operational to clean it up as there was a big dust cloud at one point that was a screamingly obvious prompt for fog.

The 3D was for once pretty decent with quite a number of instances when it was noticeable.

Overall, this is the top end of three stars but I can’t quite recommend it strongly enough for four.

Conclusions: If you have Unlimited, the film is reasonably worth checking out if you want to sit in an air conditioned room for a bit. The 4DX is in that awkward zone where the uplift isn’t a waste of money but also isn’t that special an experience. If I didn’t have Unlimited, I wouldn’t be taking my entire family to see this full price in 4DX with popcorn and stuff, save your hundreds of pounds for something else.

Me and the Toy Story franchise have history as Toy Story 3 ended up being one of the most profoundly emotional experiences I’ve had at the cinema. (Toy Story 3 spoilers:) >!I’d heard in the news about how adults had been crying at the ending and then the night before I was due to see it, I saw a Facebook post that said “Did anyone else cry at the incinerator scene at the end?” and I was like “Dammit! That’s the ending spoiled. The toys get incinerated at the end of the film and that’s why everyone’s been crying.” So I watch the film and it’s my birthday and I have an early morning IMAX screening all to myself and the incinerator scene comes along and I’m literally weeping, genuinely 100% convinced the toys are about to be burnt to death… I think it’s the one time a spoiler has actually improved the film for me. But can Toy Story 5 in 4DX beat that emotional rollercoaster?!<

The film itself - ★★★★☆: I was braced for the worst after seeing some rocky reviews of this and for a large section of the film it is the weakest Toy Story, with what feels like three B plots struggling to make an A plot.

But it ends pretty strongly and my eyes may have leaked a little bit towards the end. Or maybe it was just the water splash effect? Yes, definitely just the water splash effect.

It’s hard to discuss too much in depth without getting into spoilers but overall I thought it was a flawed but ultimately good film.

The 4DX experience - ★★★☆☆: As usual, much of the effects package consists of seat movement. There are various antics and action sequences to provide opportunities for seat effects, although there are also pretty long portions of the film that are dialogue-based or light on action.

There is some quite odd overuse of the strobe in this. It shows up when light is shining on Woody’s head, which is quite funny and a good use of it but then it also shows up randomly any time anything vaguely light-related happens. Evidently the programmer decided that it is time for the epileptic children to die.

In terms of water and weather, the water effect pops up a few times, mainly representing spittle. Wind pops up a bit representing movement. Fog pops up a couple of times representing dust clouds.

Overall, it’s a fairly reasonable package, with steady use of the effects and a decent portion of the suite getting an outing but it doesn’t come together into an experience as such.

Conclusions: There’s a drip-feed of effects throughout this so in that sense there is some value for money. On the other hand, it doesn’t cohere into a particularly memorable experience. Not a waste of money if you’re desperate to see it in this format but I wouldn’t especially recommend splashing the cash on it.