Summary
Let’s start with the conclusion: a haptic/motion-enabled theatre (such as D-Box or 4DX) provides a much better experience for F1: The Movie. If you're going to watch it in cinemas, it’s the best value for your time and money.
IMAX once was the gold standard for ultimate movie experience
For a very long time, IMAX has been the gold standard for the ultimate movie experience. I believed that for many years—until the myth was broken recently when I tried Dolby Theatre for the first time. Dolby Theatre offers an experience in ways that IMAX can’t compete. It provides more diverse virtual surround sound and a better-tuned display (in terms of contrast and brightness) than some small-sized and poorly maintained IMAX screens.
However, Dolby Theatre still competes with IMAX in similar categories and isn’t commonly available near where I live.
When I decided to watch F1: The Movie, the first question was: what format? Hoping the film would include lots of FPV (first-person view) shots, I thought it would be a great experience to feel what the drivers (or actors) are feeling in their own seats. So I chose D-Box instead of regular or IMAX theatres—and it turns out the experience was phenomenal.
D-box enriches the experience for F1: the movie
D-Box offers haptic-enabled seats and extra speakers built into the seats to provide a more immersive movie experience. Although it doesn’t include other sensory effects like wind or water, it’s also less disruptive for the audience.
It wasn’t my first time watching a movie in D-Box. A while back, I watched The Ballerina in a D-Box theatre. The seats would move or tilt according to the action—you could feel a punch through the chair suddenly shifting in one direction. But it didn’t feel very “4D,” probably because regular movies are usually shown in third-person view.
In F1: The Movie, there weren’t as many FPV shots as I expected. I guess that makes sense—there still needs to be a plot to move forward. Not everyone wants to sit in an F1 seat for two and a half hours, which would make it feel like an extended Universal Studios ride. Still, the D-Box experience for this movie was very intriguing.
First, there are many B-roll scenery shots, some captured by drones. The seats would tilt with the camera’s movement—I felt like I was flying in a drone or helicopter.
Then, during some third-person racing scenes, the seats vibrated when the cars drove over, for example, gravel—making it feel more realistic.
And during the FPV shots I had been looking forward to, the D-Box seats did a fantastic job. In some scenes, the camera is focused on the driver (like the below one), you don’t get to see much about what’s going on outside the car. But the D-Box seats translated those subtle moments, adding layers of detail that otherwise wouldn’t be felt by the audience. I literally felt the F1 cars are accelerating or braking, even though the only thing I see is Brad Pitt’s face. This is something IMAX or Dolby simply can’t provide. The 4D experience with D-Box not only enhances the movie—it actually enriches it.
As I walked out of the theatre, it didn’t feel like I had just watched a movie. It felt like I had driven alongside Brad Pitt and Damson Idris on the F1 tracks. For me, the movie experience was a 10/10.
Still in disbelief, I booked another showing in IMAX just to compare. Two hours in, the movie was still great—but the experience was totally different. It had lost so many details compared to the D-Box version that I could only give it an 8/10.
I still would go to IMAX for most movies
I’m not saying D-Box is 100% better than IMAX—IMAX movies are shot with exclusive cameras and displayed on gigantic screens. D-Box is more about enhancing the experience for most films. But for F1: The Movie, I highly recommend watching it in D-Box format.