# Should I see the Matrix now, or wait till it comes out in IMAX? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118 "2003-05-14T03:13:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/1 "2003-05-14T03:13:04Z")
I have heard that [two or three weeks after the opening](http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/23/1838255&mode=thread&tid=200) Matrix: Reloaded will be shown in IMAX theatres. Do you guys think that I should see the film now, or wait for the IMAX version? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/2 "2003-05-14T03:57:15Z")
Why not see them both? ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/3 "2003-05-14T04:03:17Z")
It’ll be released in a couple weeks on IMAX? I think I’ll be making a trip to Montreal soon. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/4 "2003-05-14T06:35:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ultrafilter \* > \*\*Why not see them both? \*\* If I see the movie on the regular screen first, it will probably make the IMAX experience less than what it could be. ---
**Author:** ![mooka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@mooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mooka)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/5 "2003-05-14T11:22:49Z")
I was thinking about that too. I’ve never seen a regular film at an IMAX before though - is it really that much better? How much bigger if the screen, how much better is the sound etc? ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/6 "2003-05-14T11:29:09Z")
The IMAX screen is 6 stories high. Ooooooooooooh, so big you pretty much have to move your head to see left to right. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/7 "2003-05-14T13:47:35Z")
See it now, then go see it again. It’s not that hard. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/8 "2003-05-14T15:29:47Z")
I saw the Lion King at IMAX (hey it was free), and to be honest, I didn’t like it. It’s like your brain can only compute a certain amount of the screen at one time, so if there’s stuff going on elsewhere on that mammoth, it’s easy to miss it. I would recommend seeing it on the normal-sized screen first, just so you’ll be familiar with it, and kind of know what to be watching for. Happy ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/9 "2003-05-14T19:18:08Z")
Frankly, I really only like movies in IMAX that are specifically filmed for presentation in IMAX. I don’t need to up see Keanu’s nostril 30 feet high. YMMV, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/10 "2003-05-14T20:43:54Z")
When the Star Wars movies came out on IMAX, I was really disappointed. IMAX projectors can only hold a certain amount of film, and they had to cut a lot out. Granted, they did cut out the douche commercial in the middle of AotC, but I still don’t like to pay more for less of a movie (even if it’s a bajillion times larger). See both if you can, but see the regular release if you can only see one. ---
**Author:** ![Cap\_n\_Crude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Cap\_n\_Crude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cap_n_Crude)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/11 "2003-06-11T17:22:31Z")
I’m with **Munch** on this one. IMAX films are capped at two hours in length unless the technology has been improved in the last six months, so you’ll be losing almost 20 minutes of _The Matrix: Reloaded_ if you see it in the dome. ---
**Author:** ![godzillatemple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@godzillatemple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godzillatemple)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/12 "2003-06-11T17:43:06Z")
Well, maybe they can cut out the completely useless orgy/dance scene, as well as the sex scene between Neo and Trinity. Barry ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/13 "2003-06-11T17:46:49Z")
Whoa. I hadn’t heard about this. Apparently, neither has the New England Aquarium. Stupid _Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance_. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/14 "2003-06-12T04:12:05Z")
**Should I see the Matrix now, or wait till it comes out in IMAX?** Rent it. On VHS. It’s not worth going to the theatre. Maybe Matrix3 will make up for M2’s huge shortcomings. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/15 "2003-06-12T04:33:06Z")
I didn’t notice any cuts when I saw it in IMAX tonight. By my watch, it lasted two hours, fifteen minutes, including the interminable credits. (My friends hadn’t seen the trailor yet, so I’ve now sat through 'em _twice_.) The official run time is 2:18, but I’m not sure whether the discrepancy is because they cut it, or because I was mentally rounding when I looked at my watch afterwards. (Like everybody else, I was hoping they’d cut the rave scene, but no such luck.) It’s very very big. Extremely big. It was cooler than seeing it on a regular screen, although I don’t know that it was worth seeing again - my advice would be to see it once, in IMAX. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/16 "2003-06-12T10:23:35Z")
Frankly, you don’t need to see it at all. Nothing really happens. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-the-matrix-now-or-wait-till-it-comes-out-in-imax/175118/17 "2003-06-12T10:28:55Z")
I suggest you rent it now. That way you can see if you like it at all before trapping yourself in a theater after having spent several dollars on a ticket. I tried watching it a couple of weeks ago, since a friend asked me to see Reloaded, and it took me two days to force myself to watch the first half, a half hour at a time was all I could stand; after the whole “explaination” part I gave up. I did not go to see the sequel.