Is it safe to go to the movies yet? For years now I’ve been waiting for the whole 3D cinema craze to pass over. To be completely candid, I’m not really sure what everybody was taking to make it seem so cool in the first place. The two or three scenes where the special 3D effects actually mean something are definitely not worth the splitting headache and marks on my face from those ridiculous glasses.

After the HD craze, I felt that everybody was headed in the right direction. After about three years of 3D being the major selling point for most high end TVs, I’m willing to admit I was wrong.

I mean, didn’t everybody get their fill of 3D in the ‘90s? There was a point where everything from “A Nightmare on Elm Street” to “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” had a 3D version, why the renewed interest? I feel like George Lucas put something in the water to make people long for needless special effects. I mean, in the years following its almost silent exit, were there really that many people left saying, “Man, I really can’t get into this movie. This could seriously use a 3D makeover!”

Speaking of 3D makeovers, this craze has helped perpetuate the biggest gripe I’ve had about American cinema and television over the last decade. There’s no originality. Seriously, it’s a known fact that just about everything that’s been big in the box office over the last 10 years has been a spin-off, reboot, adaptation, sequel, prequel or something of the like. That being said, all of the 3D remakes that have been periodically showing up in theaters has been…trying, to say the least. I mean, “Titanic” in 3D. Really? I know James Cameron had some sort of hand in this garbage.

I feel like things only really got personal when the 3D craze hit close to home in the form of 3D games. The fact that some of my favorite games had a 3D mode hurt, I thought they knew better. The latest Tekken game is in 3D. Like, what’s the point?

I feel like when it comes to gaming, the same goes for the waggle controls seen on the Wii and its rip-off counterparts, Kinect and PS Move. The point of video games is missed. I play video games because they’re NOT like reality. I don’t need things popping out of the screen in order to have fun with a game. Having to make most of the motions to play virtual basketball just makes me want to just…go outside and play basketball instead of playing a game about it.

As an owner of a 3DS (that has the 3D level constantly switched to off) I’m willing to say that the worst part of the system is the one thing that made it “unique.” Every other aspect of the 3DS besides the 3D is flawless (even if the effect is free of glasses), and the 3D honestly just gives me a headache and makes me want my old DS again.

There is hope though. With the steady growth of 4K technologies, the emphasis is being put on the actual image, as opposed to the weird things the image does when wearing certain (expensive) glasses. The Playstation 4, which is slated to be released later this year, boasts 4K streaming capabilities, as do many of the upcoming high end Sony televisions. With it being the “next big thing,” the spotlight with be taken off of 3D. Let’s just hope the advent of ultra high definition will be the silver bullet needed to slay 3D for good.
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