Constable: What Moby-Dick 4Dx feels like at Gurnee theater
Call me intrigued.
Hunkered into my comfy seat in the Marcus Gurnee Mills Cinema in Gurnee, I'm confident that Ron Howard's new Moby-Dick movie will allow me to do something that I never could do with Herman Melville's classic book — stay with it to the end. Even if I did want to bail on the epic whale tale, I'm not sure my seat will let me.
More so than the whale or leading man Chris Hemsworth, my chair is the star of this movie 4Dx experience. Before the whale appears, my chair puts me in the creature's place, gently swaying as if we're the ones swimming through the ocean.
When Hemsworth feels the Nantucket ocean breeze on his face, so do I. When Moby-Dick slaps his tail, I feel the spray on my face. And when the whalers get tossed and wet, so do I and everyone else in the audience.
“We like to call it the absolute cinema experience,” says Sang Cho, chief content officer for CJ 4DPlex America, makers of this immersive cinematic technology. Starting in Korea, the company has 4Dx in 215 locations in 35 countries, but only two in the United States — one in Los Angeles, and this one in Gurnee.
During “In the Heart of the Sea,” which opens today around the nation and in 4Dx in Gurnee, my chair vibrates and moves throughout the movie.
A gentle rolling accompanies most scenes aboard the ship, but it pitches, rolls and heaves when a storm or giant white whale causes trouble. Giant fans simulate wind, lights add lightning effects and a nozzle sprays mist when appropriate.
“All the movies have all the effects programmed into it,” says Cho, noting that his editors work with the director and film crew to make sure that effects match the action.
The 4Dx chairs also include fog, bubbles and even scents.
Marcus Gurnee Mills Cinema used a scaled-down version of the technology with last month's release of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2,” but Friday marks the official debut of the full 4Dx experience.
“There was a lot of talking in the last ‘Hunger Games,'” notes Jeff Sterling, general manger of the Gurnee theater. Even with more talk and less chair movement, theatergoers liked the new 4Dx option.
“Our percentage of occupancy in that theater was higher than any other,” Sterling says. “Some people really love it.”
The movement during some sea scenes chasing Moby-Dick might be enough to have some people reaching for their Dramamine.
And the theater includes the typical warnings for people with bad backs or health conditions.
But judging from the growing number of theaters, the public likes it.
“People are squealing and screaming,” Cho says. “People just enjoy the thrill ride.”
Tickets for the 4Dx Gurnee theater cost $6 more than watching the same movie in a typical 2D theater.
“Rather than just watch the movie, we hope you can enjoy being part of the movie,” says Theodore Kim, senior vice president of theater and business development for CJ 4DPlex America.
The real 4Dx excitement might come next week, predicts Clint Wisialowski, vice president of sales for the Marcus Theaters Corp.
That's when “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opens around the world in every 4Dx theater, including the one in Gurnee.
That movie no doubt will include lots of chair movements, wind and light effects, vibrations and maybe some fog and water.
But I'm kind of hoping the Gurnee theater doesn't put its scent technology to work.
I suspect that Chewbacca smells a lot like Ishmael after 14 months at sea.