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With ‘Twisters,’ 4DX Finally Swept America. Where Does Hollywood Go From Here?
'Twisters' became a 'humongous' hit in 4DX. Now, Hollywood is looking to capitalize on the burgeoning market.
You sit in a heavy-duty chair not unlike a normal cinema recliner, and when the movie starts, you are immersed in the story via 20 off-screen special effects, including seat movement and vibration, water, wind, fog, strobe lighting and bubbles, the latter used to simulate blood. The severity of the seat movement was pleasantly surprising — I was expecting “It’s a Small World” and got “Space Mountain.” But while getting a taste of storm chasing was genuinely thrilling for a youngster like me, midway through the film I couldn’t help thinking that my motion sickness-prone mom would have turned her popcorn bucket into a barf bag by now. On the other hand, it’s not hard to imagine a near future in which Hollywood studios begin developing full-length movies with 4DX in mind, similar to how directors like Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve have heavily incorporated Imax into the filmmaking process — and encouraged audiences to seek out premium screens.
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