Thrill Ride - The Science of Fun (Large Format)

Rating:
Summary: An uninteresting disappointment
Review: Thrill Ride The Science of Fun is a movie made for the IMAX theater, focusing on thrill rides. This is a boring, uninteresting film that gives a one-sided view of today's thrill rides. The producers of Thrill Ride think that the only type of thrill rides available today are motion simulators, and they are convinced that simulators are able to live up to real thrill rides, and may someday be the only type of thrill ride available. 32 out of 40 minutes are spent covering simulator rides. Unfortunately, this film was made in 1997, and a lot of new technology has since come on the market, leaving older, relatively low-tech attractions on this film. I am not one who enjoys motion simulators most of the time. This film spends a lot of time explaining how high-tech and very good quality computer-generated images are created and used. Of course, in 1997 technology was not that advanced, so the images they're talking about lack the realism of today's CGI. 5 minutes is spent on explaining how simulators for full size airplanes and jets work. I want thrill rides, not airplane sims! A portion of the film is hosted by a crazy old farmer/miner whose accent, attitude, and antics are completely unentertaining. The majority of thrill rides are roller coasters, not simulators, yet this film spends only 8 minutes on coasters and droptowers. Included are POV footage on Kumba and Montu, and Big Shot droptower in Las Vegas, as well as some rare footage from the old movie "This is Cinerama" featuring the defunct wood coaster from New York's defunct Rockaway Playland. Unfortunately, especially in the case of Cinerama, the entire ride is not shown, only a portion. I really wanted to see more of the Cinerama coaster, considering how it is impossible to ride it in reality. This video gets one point for two reasons. First, the minute or two of Cinerama POV footage was interesting (just not long enough). Second, the video offers a behind-the-scenes look at Back To The Future, the ride, from Universal Studios. This was also interesting. Unfortunately, about 80% of this video is sleep-inducing and uninteresting. All in all, I do not recommend buying Thrill Ride - it is a boring disappointment.