Bond… James Bond! Celebrating its
50th anniversary comes another movie from the bond potpourri,
‘SKYFALL’. Meekly I accept this was to be my first bond movie, and my first
ever rendezvous with the IMAX theatre.
We went to the Udvar Hazy Centre,
Chantilly Virginia; upon our arrival we learnt it was a sold out show and no
more tickets available. Bracing our tickets with a pompous smile, we queued outside
the theatre an hour before such that we get the best seats (as there are no
reservation of seats, only first come first serve). Hold on! I just noticed
there aren’t any counters for snacks and drinks, but why?
So as the queue lengthened alike a
serpentine, we were proud to be at the serpent’s head, i.e. we were somewhere
close to the beginning of the queue and stayed assured that we are to get the
best seats. Finally the doors opened and we sauntered in. Though the theatre
was small but my eyes gawked seeing the size of the screen. As we got seated I
learnt that Airbus Theatre’s screen is 62- feet tall (height of a six story
building) and around 90 feet wide, possibly the largest flat movie screen, allowing
the audience to be much closer to the screen.
As people bounced and leapt to get the best seat, I observed the theatre spick and span. No smell
of Cheese or Nachos, no Coca Cola cups getting trampled under feet and no
popcorns crunching on the seats. Thus my mind quizzed, is this movie that good,
where there is no time for a straying thought to reach the popcorns or aerated
drinks?
“Ladies and gentlemen please be
seated as we are about to begin the show.” So as the movie unrolled and Bond
sneaked into the room, it seemed we were prowling right behind. The
increased resolution pulls the audience in through the screen. Thus when Bond
drowned, I felt water gurgling above my head. When the helicopter crashed and
the train cannoned into the tunnel, I felt the chill running down my spine.
Aha!
Now it answers my question as to why Airbus IMAX theatre erased out a snack
counter? All in all though the movie might not be that great but the whole idea
of watching it in IMAX made the difference. I admit, someone like me, bugged
with very short attention span, did not budge from seat and at no time did a
faintly drifting thought yearn some popcorn or juice. No doubt, it is called the
IMAX experience, sure it was!
