Crappy post-conversion tests are what saved your eyeballs from Fast Five 3D

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

You almost had bulging biceps and whizzing vehicles hurled at your noggin in 3D, but Universal tried it with this week’s FAST FIVE but didn’t like what they saw. (And actually decided not to release it in 3D despite that.)

According to the LA Times, the quintuquel (what do you call a fifth movie in a franchise?) was considered for the omnipresent 3D treatment, but the results weren’t impressive enough to justify the additional $10 million to convert the movie to the additional dimension.

“The test was not great. It was discombobulating and we discovered that the things that we find exciting about 3-D just didn’t apply to a FAST film,” Universal co-chairman Donna Langley said. “The way we shot the movie and, more importantly, the way we cut it does not lend itself to 3-D.”

I’d say it’s nice to see studios recognizing the limitations and oversaturation of the format, but this summer is about to be an onslaught of big 3D movies both post-converted (THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA, HARRY POTTER, GREEN LANTERN) and shot native (CARS 2, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES, TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON), so we’ll see just how tired audiences’ eyes are by September.