In my opinion, IMAX is one of the greatest things to ever happen to the movie industry. I will never forget seeing Batman fly over China on a giant screen that was over seven stories tall. Last year, my children gasped as we watched the heroes from The Force Awakens hop on the Millennium Falcon and escape from the desert planet of Jakku in scenes that filled the same 76 foot tall screen. These scenes were truly breathtaking. We loved them!!!!
Seeing this on a nearly 8 story tall screen was amazing!
I was able to see these scenes as the movies' directors had intended because I am lucky enough to live within driving distance of an IMAX theater (it's a 35 minute drive... but it was worth it). Now you might be thinking, "Big deal dude. There is an IMAX at all three malls around me." Unfortunately, there is a very good chance that those are "LIEMAX" theaters.
For at least seven years, theaters have been retrofitting one of their auditoriums to be able to show IMAX movies. They call these "Digital IMAX". That sounds awesome! That sounds even more high tech than IMAX! But its not. These "Digital IMAX" theaters (which many refer to as LIEMAX) are far inferior to true IMAX.
This is what a true IMAX screen looks like.
Today I learned a valuable lesson. Even brand new theaters, built from the ground up, are taking the shortcut to install LIEMAX instead of IMAX. I wanted to take my son and his buddy to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story An IMAX 3D Experience. Both my son and I normally hate 3D. It fatigues our eyes and doesn't really seem worth the hassle or extra money. But this is a Star Wars movie. We wanted to experience it every way possible.
Normally, we see all IMAX movies at the theater 35 minutes form our home. It's really not that long of a drive. However, this time, I decided to roll the dice. A brand new 12 auditorium theater just opened up about 10 minutes from our home. I figured since it was brand new, they had to have a real IMAX theater. Why didn't I research to make sure? I did. And that is part of the problem. No theater is going to tell you it is a LIEMAX. They technically are IMAX theaters... but most of them are far smaller than they are meant to be. I searched the theater's website. I checked the IMAX company website. Neither of these were any help. It seemed obvious that they did not want me to be an informed consumer. I tried to call the theater, but no number was listed. Even if I had been able to call, I have a feeling the teenager on the other end would say, "The screen is pretty big sir". I searched the web for reviews or tools posted by other customers. Unfortunately, the theater was so new that I was flying blind.
I decided to give it a shot. I took the easy way out and ordered three tickets. I walked into the theater and said, "Curse you LIEMAX!"
We still enjoyed the movie (although the 3D really did nothing to enhance our experience). But I vowed never to return to that IMAX again.
Why? It's so convenient and it's not that different from a real IMAX. But here's the problem. This theater, and nearly all other LIEMAX theaters, charges the exact same price as a real IMAX presentation. That's not cool. It's also not cool that hey made it so difficult to find the information about their presentation.
But the worst part is... there is a HUGE difference between IMAX and LIEMAX.
A true IMAX presentation is filmed with special cameras using special film. The result is a picture that is larger while having a significantly higher resolution (it's huge and actually looks better). Digital IMAX (LIEMAX) has a maximum perceived resolution of 2.9K while true IMAX has 12K. This isn't golf... so more is better. In layman's terms, 12K is going to look significantly better.
The picture quality is not the only disparity. The real difference (for me at least) is screen size.
You Yoda? No. Screen size... yes!
One of my favorite things about true IMAX is that it fills your entire field of vision. I actually sit in the last row when I go so I can almost see the corners of the screen. Because the screen is literally the only thing you can see, you feel as if you are in the movie. This is not the case with LIEMAX.
The following image shows what true IMAX is intended to be.... an awe inspiring 76' x 97' screen (This isn't Spinal Tap... that is measured in feet).
You can see the difference when compared to the very unimpressive average size of a LIEMAX screen (labeled "Empire").
-------------------Standard Widescreen ------------------------------------- 70MM IMAX----------------------------
I might not mind this difference as much if the companies made it easy for me to make an informed decision or if they charged less for the inferior version. But they don't. They call both types of presentations "IMAX" and charge the same price. If I'm going to pay that much, I definitely want the full experience.
Even though they don't quite measure up to true IMAX, Digital IMAX theaters usually do have a better than average picture and awesome sound. For many people, I'm sure these aspects, combined with a more convenient location, lead to an enjoyable movie-going experience . To these viewers I say... huzzah! If you enjoy it, keep enjoying it. Just because I'm a loon about this kind of stuff doesn't mean other people should be.
However, if you would like to find a true IMAX near you, a few helpful movie junkies have provided a few tools to assist you in your search.
Searchable list of IMAX Locations
Here is an article on IMAX and Digital IMAX if you would like more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX