Railing against 3D is about as effective as ranting about remakes: good for letting off steam, but ultimately pointless. The general movie-going public has made clear that it's willing to pay a premium to watch 3D presentations, without much regard for the quality of the movie itself (Alice in Wonderland: in Disney Digital 3D) or even the quality of the 3D effects (Clash of the Titans), so the major Hollywood studios will keep pumping them out. The next victim of the 3D craze? Movie titles.When it comes to movie titles, I'm a traditionalist: I like titles, not numbers, and certainly not descriptions of a technical effect that's not even available in all theaters where the movie is playing. So when I see things like the new logos for Men in Black 3 In 3D and Spider-Man in 3D (uncovered by Collider), it drives me nuts.
I understand that it's a marketing game, and doesn't necessarily reflect an "official title." (Sony has stated that the next Spider-Man movie is untitled so far.) Marketers want to build awareness of the title. But indiscriminately adding "In 3D" to movie titles puts the emphasis in the wrong place, as far as I'm concerned. Aren't we supposed to be excited because Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are reuniting to fight aliens? Isn't the prospect of a brand new Peter Parker back in high school what you want to sell? You can only sell "in 3D" so many times before the novelty wears off and everyone realizes it's the modern-day equivalent of "All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing!" And, please, leave the titles -- official or not -- alone.
