“Gladiator II” and “Wicked” are two of 2024’s most anticipated flicks, released on the same weekend, which some are referring to as “Glicked.” Both of the movies have some connection to another classic and immensely popular piece of pop culture media and contrast each other when it comes to style, effects, and characters. So, naturally, similar to last year’s Barbenheimer, many moviegoers would want to show out to watch them back-to-back. Of course, if you want the full experience, it must be experienced in 4D.
Wicked:
The movie itself blew away our expectations. It stuck to its roots, almost line for line, lyric fo
r lyric, yet the crew perfectly executed it. The actresses Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo had great chemistry and even better talent and performances. Shoutout to the choreography team for the musical numbers, which only got better with the 4D effects. Furthermore, the motion was way more violent when the action ramped up towards the end.
The movie was carried over the edge by the two leads. Cynthia Erivo was fantastic in the movie, doing all her own stunts and dances and putting on a singing clinic all at the same time. Director Jon M. Chu did his job to turn the hit stage musical into a hit blockbuster movie, and the movie version captured everything we expected of it.
Gladiator II:
The star-studded cast of “Gladiator” II didn’t leave anything on the table, executing this long-awaited sequel. Ridley Scott is one of Sol’s favorite directors, producing many classics such as Alien, The Martian and Napoleon. While this was not one of his best works, it was still highly entertaining. Between Rome’s conquest and a Coliseum loaded with sharks, it’s hard to go wrong.
Paul Mescal led the film well with a strong performance but struggled to live up to Russell Crowe’s Oscar-winning role in the original. The movie played out very similar to the first movie, following a simple plot of adversity and triumph among political struggles.
The action scenes did not disappoint; when you bring an all-time movie into 2024, the effects can blow you away. we had a fantastic time revisiting Scott’s ancient Rome for a couple more hours.
Overall, the movie did not live up to the prestige of its predecessor, yet it was well worth the watch. In response to the most famous quote from Gladiator: “Are you not entertained?” We would say we were.
4D Experience:
In the first leg of our 4D movie marathon, while watching Wicked, we felt the effects from the start. The chairs began to move around as soon as the trailers started, and the intensity of the effects matched the scenes quite well. In addition, the wind effects were particularly potent and added a nice touch to the film. The chairs also rocked gently with the big dance numbers, which was rather calming.
Don’t get us wrong, we loved the spraying effects, and we completely understood what they were trying to do, but it loses its grandeur when overused. The chairs were very comfy, and the water exited from a spout mounted on the chair in front of you. Fans produced the wind around the theater, and the chairs had a footrest. Overall, this was generally worth the price but not entirely worth it. It would have been if the effects were used more consistently and at the right times.
The biggest difference between the two experiences was that Gladiator II had more action, which allowed for more effects and more chair movement. At times, it felt like a mini roller coaster. Our chairs would vibrate violently at an explosion, and they got tossed around. The wind and water never let up until the big scenes concluded, which was not the case sometimes during Wicked. There was lots of wind in this case as well, and we felt like the water was not overdone because there were actually a decent amount of water scenes where it could be used. Overall, we certainly recommend seeing action movies in 4D more so than anything else, as 4D will provide the most immersive experience. This particular film was worth the hefty price tag, but the experience is rather expensive regardless.
4D is a great concept and a fun new way to watch movies, and it would be perfect with a few tweaks. Though it is more immersive than the normal experience and very fun at first, when everything is new and exciting, it does get old by the end because as viewers we got used to the effects and it got boring because the same thing would happen over and over again.
