It’s a bird, it’s a man, it’s… a movie where a man is turned into a bird, but desperately wants to be a man again! The espionage excitement of Spies In Disguise is the sort of thing you need to see to believe, as this is the sort of action you’d only see in the world of animation.
Which means that there’s another good question to ask yourself when weighing the ticket price of a ticket to see Will Smith and Tom Holland flock together into their mission of peril: To 3D or Not To 3D? If you’re looking to see what we thought of Spies In Disguise as a movie experience, you should head over to our official review and get those details.
However, if you want to know if this movies’ worth the extra 3D ticket money, or if you’re better off buying bird seed in bulk, we’re about to learn that lesson together. Let’s spread our wings, and fly into the third dimension!
3D Fit Score: 5/5
When you put together the sort of lush visual landscapes and action/adventure thrills that Spies In Disguise promises its audience, it’s hard for 3D fans to not wonder what those moments would look like in an enhanced presentation. But it’s clear that directors Troy Quane and Nick Bruno have crafted a film that would take full advantage of the 3D landscape, were it given the chance; especially in the moments where the action really picks up on screen.
Planning & Effort Score: 4/5
The level of planning and effort that went into Spies In Disguise’s enhancements for 3D presentation is pretty impressive, especially when taking into account that computer animation has a distinct advantage in how the image is manipulated for the format. With the exception of the brightness levels involved, this is a really good example of a film using the format to a superb extent; and even in that lone factor, the overall experience isn’t ruined.
Before the Window Score: 5/5
Visual aspects that look like they’ve popped off of the screen, and flown out into the crowd are always interesting to observe in a 3D movie. When done right, they add a fantastic level of detail to a movie like Spies In Disguise; but when executed incorrectly, they tend to fall into the usual thresholds of too much or too little.
Thankfully, this particular adventure is more than comfortable with flinging things at the audience, as atmospheric effects like snow, feathers, and glitter (you read that right) brighten up the images you see on screen when things aren’t exploding or hands and weapons aren’t being aimed at your face. It’s a consistent effect throughout the film, and it enhances rather than distracts.
Beyond the Window Score: 5/5
Much like assets that pass before the window, and into the audience, images beyond the window can draw a field of vision with great depth and clarity. Spies In Disguise impresses in this respect as well, as the images shown on screen exhibit an endless level of clarity, on top of excellent spatial reasoning between characters and their environments.
The most amazing example of how well this film does its job in terms of depth are when it decides to take to the skies, as the depth of picture is reflected both in terms of height and distance, fully realizing a 3D environment horizontally as well as vertically.
Brightness Score: 4/5
As the factor of brightness is typically contentious when it comes to seeing a 3D movie, it’s a good time to remind you all that this particular field isn’t fully determined by the filmmakers behind the premium format treatment. Your mileage may vary with any 3D experience, as theaters don’t always maintain their projectors at the highest quality to present a film in this method.
Judging by the screening observed for Spies In Disguise’s 3D evaluation, there was only a slight dimming in terms of the picture’s brightness, which lead to some of the brighter moments of the film coming off as sort of grey in the worst case scenario. However, scenes of low lighting or nighttime conditions are still crisp and clear, with color details still being presented in a rich manner.
Glasses Off Score: 5/5
One of the most important rules of turning a 2D film into a 3D adventure happens to be that you have to blur the image to a certain extent. That level of manipulation can determine just how much any particular moment of a movie can stick out, as well as how deep the picture will go into its background.
With Spies In Disguise, there is a glorious amount of blur that is showcased all over the screen, and not just in the background. This is reflected in both how well the movie showcases objects flying off the screen, while also mining the depths of its environments for maximum effect. The standard 2D touch points are naturally in place, but the film doesn’t linger too long on any given aspect included to heighten the sensation of 3D sight.
Audience Health Score: 4/5
There is a lot of action in Spies In Disguise. So much that you could consider this one of the most action packed animated films of the year that also gave us How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and even Toy Story 4, both of which also had their share of 3D theatrics on display. And yet, when you watch this fact paced spy chase in 3D, it’s a smooth ride that all can enjoy, with only slight moments of visual lag present to break the hypnotic spell of this enchanting format.
Should you want to start the new year off with a 3D thrill that’s well worth the ticket price, Spies In Disguise is the sort of movie you want to flock towards. With a majority of conversion work in 3D coming off as moderately exciting at best, and downright useless at worst. But much like Dreamworks Animation’s Abominable before it, this is another animated gem that feels like gourmet junk food for your eyes. If you’re seeing Spies In Disguise, you have to experience it in 3D.
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