The Polar Express 3D Blu-ray Review

MOVIE REVIEW

About a year ago, I did a review on The Polar Express in IMAX 3D. Now, it's time to take a look at it again at home on 3D Blu-ray. If you're one of the few people around wondering what The Polar Express is, it's a 2004 movie based on the book of the same name about a young boy who is losing his belief in Santa. But on one Christmas Eve, all that changes when he boards a mysterious train that takes him to the north pole, along with many other kids who have things to learn on the ride there.

There are movies that almost everyone agrees are good, movies almost everyone agrees are bad, movies almost everyone agrees are mid, and then there's The Polar Express. This is a film that most people either love or despise. Sometimes, even my own enjoyment of the film fluctuates with each viewing. It's a tough movie to analyze because in terms of objective quality, it's kinda all over the place. There's some genuinely good elements mixed in with some distracting, almost gimmicky elements too. In my previous review, I came to the conclusion that your enjoyment of The Polar Express depends on your tolerance for rubber faces and the weird detours the story takes. Personally, I thought those elements added more to the film's unique style and overall experience. But taking a look at it with fresh eyes almost a year later, yeah, I can kinda see where those issues detract from the story and easily turn people off about this film. That being said, there are also plenty of good things about the film that do hold up well on repeated viewings. So let's waste no more time and unpack what works about the film and what doesn't.

The animation in The Polar Express is a bit of a double edged sword. On one hand, the hyperrealistic visuals and backgrounds can be downright stunning. But on the other hand, the human characters don't really look all that, well, human. In most cartoons where the designs are intentionally unique to the film, this would typically go along swimmingly. However, it's quite understandable that this movie, in trying to replicate real life as much as possible, tried passing that on to its human characters before CGI was ready for such a task. As a result, people's faces lacked proper texture and much of the characters' motions felt just off. One common criticism that people try to bring up with the film is that the characters don't express any emotion through their faces. However, from my experience, in between the wild story and the hero boy's stoic personality, I think issue is more that the movie doesn't really gives its characters much opportunity to express. I also say that because when film does need expression, I think it actually gets along quite fine. The main issue that I can point out, and it's a very understandable one, is that the people just look uncanny for what seems like virtually no reason. The designs are too human to be animated, but the style is too cartoony to feel real. The result can oftentimes put people in a weird spot, confused on how to feel about the overall product, or in some cases, a bit freaked out.

As for the story, there is quite a bit to appreciate. But I also acknowledge that objectively, it is a bit flawed. I will give the film this, adapting a short story book into a 90 minute feature is no easy task. You have to make the story last for much longer than it's book counterpart while also staying true to its themes, characters, vision, and tone. When The Polar Express needs to, it does this superbly while also feeling like its own thing. However, as many people pointed out, the material added onto it seems to make it feel more like a roller coaster ride than an actual movie. Now, this isn't always the case. In fact, some of the new elements like the ghost work to actually build upon the film's message about faith. The issue, though, is still a valid one. There are moments of dignity and heart mixed in with pointless moments involving a floating ticket or characters singing about hot chocolate while dancing around in impossible ways (though to be fair, Hot Chocolate is my all-time favorite Christmas song). Maybe it's because of my viewing of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D just a few weeks ago that in and of itself felt like a gimmick, but I felt these parts to be somewhat more gimmicky than they probably should be. Now does that mean these parts aren't fun? No, I did still have a blast watching the film. But from a story standpoint, it's understandable how it can feel like padding. In between all these issues, it becomes quite clear why so many people tend to have a probem getting into this movie. And I've found the longer I dwell on these issues, the more it hinders my own enjoyment of the film.

That being said, there is still plenty about The Polar Express that does work. Like I said before, when the story needs to have heart, it does have some genuine heart. Most everyone has an arc they have to overcome, especially with the hero boy and his struggle to have faith, and all those them come together quite beautifully by the end. There are lots of small but creative touches woven into the story that help it to stand on its own two feet. Such include the aforementioned ghost, the lettering the conductor punches onto the tickets, the scheduling the conductor has to abide by, and some of the ways we see the north pole operate. It's the little things like these that give you an idea that there was some real passion put into the film and that the creators wanted to give you a unique and memorable viewing experience. While true, some of the events they add in don't really seem to go anywhere, they still work to make the film, as I put it last time, a fun train ride. And that, they manage to do well. The visuals and scope can be breathtaking at times, especially when viewed in 3D, there is still a sense of majesty and wonder that runs through the course of the film, and the score by Alan Silvestri is truly incredible, by far the best thing about the movie.

All things considered, I still highly enjoyed The Polar Express in spite of its flaws. I guess there are two ways to go about this movie: A. You can take it for what it is, warts and all, and see it as an alright but also strange attempt at adapting The Polar Express into a movie, or B. You can choose to see it the way Robert Zemeckis saw it and not let the film's issues be huge issues, and just simply go along for the ride. Either way, this isn't the perfect Christmas film. But it remains an interesting one to talk about, whether you like it or hate it. For me, while I can see where many of the film's critics come from, I still think the movie has enough good elements to outweigh the weird ones. In years to come, I'll probably be switching my style of viewing this film between A and B. But regardless of whichever one I go with, or whichever one you go with, this is still undoubtedly a movie with a bold, surreal vision that takes kids and adults on an entertaining trip to the north pole in a fashion that only Robert Zemeckis can deliver. True, it won't be everyone's cup of tea. Personally though, I still see it as a enjoyable, and sometimes great Christmas classic that I can see sticking around for a long time.

OVERALL FILM RATING: 3.75/5

3D REVIEW

While we all have differing opinions on The Polar Express as a movie, there's no denying that it's one of the great 3D pioneers that helped snowplow the way for other great 3D, and especially IMAX 3D, films to ride down the cinematic tracks. And even to this day, its usage of 3D helps it to remain one of the greatest 3D movies available. I remember being blown away when I saw this film last year in 3D on the enormous IMAX screen. This year though, I'm taking to reviewing the 3D Blu-ray, which in my most recent viewing, seems to have a lot of differences in between not just the IMAX 3D presentation, but also my past viewing with the 3D Blu-ray in the past. But none the less, in its own right, it still delivers a fantastic experience.

Remember how in my last review I said how there wasn't hardly any positive parallax (aka, depth going into the screen)? Well, I don't know if much was done differently on the 3D Blu-ray. But at home, I noticed depth galore. There were still a good handful of shots such as the one of the pointy mountaintop or a few inside the passenger car that went almost flat. But it wasn't anything like the style of 3D I brought up before where I said the further part of the environment was placed right on the screen. Maybe I was just so far up to the screen in the IMAX theater it appeared that way. At home, there was still a lot of stuff coming way out of the screen. But there was also a lot going way into it too. And it leads to a lot of well-composed 3D shots of The Polar Express, mountains, snow, crowds of elves, train cars, windows, and buildings in the North Pole. With the the opening shot of the neighborhood as the camera moves into the window of the hero boy's bedroom, I was in fact "reveling in how deep the picture looks."

Besides just the fact that the film's depth is more intense on the 3D Blu-ray, what makes the 3D presentation here very special is just like with Gravity, the camerawork and the motions are designed especially with 3D in mind to make the film more immersive and mesmerizing. It does so in so many ways. And I've pretty much covered the gist of it all in my IMAX 3D review. So here's what I've already said that still applies to the 3D Blu-ray experience: "Right from the beginning of the film, the opening logos hover right over the screen, retaining interesting 3D shape and size. When the (starting) shot begins to move closer and closer to the hero boy's head, the bed sheet start protruding the screen, and eventually, the boy's face. I could definitely feel his presence.

          And from here, it only gets better. We get everything popping out at us from model planes to floating words from a book to a stair rail. There's even an interesting shot where the boy is looking at his sister being tucked in through a keyhole while they're discussing something the story considers important. What he's looking at remains flat, but the surrounding keyhole is in negative parallax. When she's finished being tucked in, the camera goes to the other side of the keyhole then shows the boy slowly moving his head away from the keyhole. The camera then goes through the keyhole and into the boy's room. This is just one interesting usage of 3D the film presents us with. When the Polar Express does pull up the boy's house, the train has proper 3D shape and protrudes the screen plenty. But even better is the snow falling right into the theater. And when the train actually gets moving, the snow comes flying right past you or directly at you. Inside The Polar Express, everything still retains decent 3D space. And the camera movements make the 3D imagery all the more mesmerizing. During the hot chocolate song sequence, we get everything from hot chocolate being sprayed into the audience to active dances throughout the 3D space to flying plates (to a shot where the butlers are stepping directly on your face).

          That isn't the only 3D highlight of the film, though. Like they say, there's plenty more where that came from. Those roller coaster sequences benefit greatly from the extra added space, giving you the impression you're flying down a long steep track or right beside the wheels of the train engine. That seemingly pointless scene of the ticket flying out of the train car and getting taken up by wind and several different animals is lots of fun to watch, with the ticket flying right out of the screen. And there's one shot where the hero boy stops the train and the snowplow on the front of the train stops just short of your face. That shot alone is worth the price of admission. And once again, the handy camerawork continually draws you into the experience, making a high up track seem really high up, making you feel surrounded by a series of cables carrying up Santa's bag, putting you up above a cityscape, and placing you in the midst of a bunch of elves." Now for some little touches that I either forgot to mention the first time around or didn't notice until I watched the film on 3D Blu-ray: early on, we get a shot of the hero boy reading into a book and the camera somehow moves backwards into a page and we see the letters floating in mid-air. Another similar shot occurs later when the camera moves backwards into ice and we get surrounded by imperfections and cracks in it. When the conductor punches the tickets, little yellow pieces of paper fly off into the room. And on several occassions, we can actually look through the holes punched into the tickets. There's one scene where the hero boy, and hero girl, and the conductor move through a car full of toys being held up on strings. And in it, a Scrooge puppet jumps out at us. A trio of kids at one point walk across a rail that goes over a giant chasm resulting in a few shots I'd deem dizzying. There's one scene where The Polar Express goes up over a frozen lake where the 3D adds a sense of scale and volume to the ice covering the lake. When it bursts and water sprays out of it, it feel all the more menacing. And there's a cool shot where the wheel of a train cart stops right in front of you. When Santa finally heads off in his sleigh, he lets loose a magic

Funny enough, with the 3D Blu-ray this time around, I didn't really have a problem with ghosting the same way I got it with the IMAX 3D presentation. However, that was replaced with a another problem that's just as distracting: warping. It certainly wasn't present throughout the whole movie. But in good handful of shots, especially in the film's last third, it starts to occur around the characters' faces. And it's a real shame too because this is when the story comes to a climax. In fact, the very last shot of the film with the bell still has a bit of this surreal warping surrounding it. While it didn't ruin the movie for me as a whole, it's still a caveat that purchasers must still be aware of.

Motion capture movies have always been a bit polarizing. But if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that they've provided some truly excellent 3D. And The Polar Express was the film that started it all. I still hold onto my former opinion that this film beats Avatar in terms of 3D. While both certainly know how to use the technology to their absolute advantage, I think The Polar Express just has a lot more fun with it. It's not always the subtle draw-you-in type 3D either Avatar or Gravity are known for. But that kinda goes along with the film's style and it makes the 3D easily memorable. True, there is some definitely weird warping surrounding the characters in a few scenes, and 3D fans will want to be aware of that ahead of time. But that doesn't prevent this 3D Blu-ray presentation from achieving a score of "excellent." It's still an absolute must-own for any 3D fan. While I'd still recommend checking the film out in an IMAX theater in your area if it's playing there, the 3D Blu-ray is still the next best thing. If you're out to watch The Polar Express, you should certainly get to watch it the way it was intended.

3D RATING: EXCELLENT

OTHER SOURCES THAT REVIEW THIS MOVIE'S 3D:

High-Def Digest's Review: https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/4059/polarexpress3d.html

Tommy Boy 3D's Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsMTuQ7nDp0

Real Future Pictures's Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KJwkH2hL8w

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Polar Express, in my opinion at least, is a fun Christmas adventure with enough visual flare, wonder, and satisfactory character moments to make it worth my, and anyone else's while. And if you can see it in 3D, that only adds to it. Will everyone get into this film the same way I did? Absolutely not. And the many criticisms people have with the film are pretty valid. Objectively, The Polar Express is no masterpiece. But if you're willing to simply lean back and take in a mesmerizing, yet mysteriously atmosphered Christmas movie with a one-of-a-kind style, you'll definitely find it here. And for some, that might be worthy of one or two toots from a train whistle. Bottom line: see it and decide for yourself. Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of opinions of this film though, seeing it in 3D is a must. The expert 3D choreography, the action sequences, and the grand scale of the film not only make this a true 3D classic, but its history in the role of IMAX 3D cinema is more than cause for appreciation. While it's not entirely flawless, it gets so many things right and does so many things brilliantly you won't walk away disappointed. In fact, you'll probably even be highly delighted. If you haven't already, give this 3D Blu-ray a purchase and watch it this Christmas season. It's a real 3D treat.