Unlike a lot of people
I know, I have no problem when a book I like is adapted into a movie. I don’t always think that it’s a great idea,
but I like the cases where it works as a stand-alone piece of art. That said, it didn’t come as much of a
surprise to me that The Great Gatsby is being made into a major film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey
Maguire. In fact, I first heard about
when I saw the trailer (I was watching MIB 3; don’t judge me), and was
surprised to discover that it was being released in 3d. This begs the question: Why?
I am not inherently
opposed to the use of 3d, in fact, there are movies that undoubtedly benefited
from its use, whether creating an entire world (Avatar) or going for shits and giggles (Harold & Kumar 3), and I’m actually looking forward to seeing
the new Spiderman movie in 3d,
because the depth would add something when the character is swinging around the
tops of skyscrapers. But what is added
to the overall cinematic experience by making The Great Gatsby 3d? It
seems to make as much sense as a 3d version of Glengary Glen Ross, because it is a character based story. I’m not given any more insight into any of
the characters because of the 3d, in fact, 3d is still enough of a novelty that
it would be distracting, instead of immersing me in the movie.
But I could bitch all
day about this, and nothing would happen.
Here’s what I recommend. If you
see the movie, see the 2d version. Tell
your friends to do the same. If the 3d
version isn’t as profitable, Hollywood might just get the message.
