First 007 in 3D is the RealD

If you can find a movie theater presenting “No Time to Die” in 3D, I strongly recommend you choose that option, whether it’s your first or second viewing of the latest James Bond movie.
It delivers one of the best 3D experiences I have seen in many years from a mainstream commercial release.
In addition to being the first Bond movie to be filmed using IMAX cameras, “No Time to Die” is also the first to be converted and presented theatrically in 3D on its initial release using the RealD 3D process and showing in select Regal and AMC theaters, among others.

Seeing a Bond movie in 3D is something I have been hoping for since the resurgence of mainstream commercial movies in 3D in the early-to-mid 2000s, about the time Daniel Craig was being introduced as the new James Bond 15 years ago in “Casino Royale” in 2006. Now, with Craig’s fifth and final Bond movie, “No Time to Die” finally delivers that opportunity, and it really does it well.
The 3D is immediately apparent even as the head of the iconic MGM lion pushes forward from inside the new circle logo as he roars. And from the first moments of the movie itself I felt like I was being propelled through the opening gun barrel to the tops of the trees in the Norway snow.
After first seeing and reviewing the movie three times in two different IMAX theaters in two different states, and then comparing those viewings with a presentation in a standard theater, during my fourth viewing in 3D, for the first time I noticed little things like the spikes on the snow boots of villain Safin, and I felt as if I were right above and could maybe reach out and grab young Madeleine flailing in the water under the ice.
For the first time, I found the opening title sequence visually exciting as the letters and the moving dots popped off the screen. The digitally-animated snowflakes appeared as if they were falling in the theater with me, and the floating gears, hourglass, pistols, and the shattering marble gun all felt like they were suspended in mid-air within reach.

There was increased intensity as I felt like I was inside the Aston Martin DB5 with Madeleine and Bond as the bullets kept hitting the windows. It seemed like we were underwater with Bond and Felix as the boat was sinking, if only we could really reach out to help. And all the close-ups of the actors, especially Daniel Craig, were so much more powerful, the face-to-face exchange between he and Safin in Safin’s lair was the most dramatic I had seen it or even and felt it during the other viewings.

Of course there was a little blurriness a few times when there was very fast camera movement but it was not bothersome at all, even throughout the entire 2-hours and 43-minute running time.
The 3D not only makes everything more dynamic, it keeps you more engaged with the movie, and helps you notice and especially feel things you don’t in 2D.
You may have a hard time finding a theater offering it in 3D – I saw it at a Regal theater where it had only one showtime on Thursday, Oct. 14 (the end of the first week in release), but it will be worth the hunt and going the extra mile for the rare and satisfying opportunity to see a Bond movie in 3D for the first, and hopefully not the only or last time.

— By Scott Hettrick