IMAX versus DLP, 35mm

Rating: 9/10 (2 December 2002)

IMAX pros: picture detail, screen size, audio volume, picture steadiness. IMAX cons: graininess, blurred animation, contrast issues, audio placement, screen shape. IMAX bottom line: digital projector is a better experience than IMAX
I watched Episode II on IMAX (after watching it on both 35mm and digital projectors) and didn't really enjoy it. True, IMAX shows incredible detail -- you can see every pore and eyelash on Natalie Portman's face. And the projected image is incredibly steady. And the sound is loud everywhere in the theater. And Yoda is indeed large.
But several distractions take away from the improvements. First, watching IMAX is like watching a bad VCD -- whenever the camera pans or characters move (even just a little), the blur and loss of detail is very noticeable. Slow scenes look great, but action scenes look horrible. You keep waiting for everyone to stand still so they come back into focus. At ~28 frames/second, I wouldn't expect the blur to be a problem, but it definitely is. (IMAX is capable of 48 frames/second, but such a reel of a full-length movies won't fit on the projector.) Perhaps blur is just more noticeable at higher resolution.
There is also a certain graininess to the picture which I didn't notice on digital -- pure white backgrounds appear hatched. Maybe this is a side effect of the semi-transparent IMAX silver screen, or it could be an artifact of the conversion process - i have no idea.
My biggest disappointment was with the sound. IMAX is certainly loud, but the surround sound is not very surrounding. Most of the loudspeakers are behind the screen, right in front of you. Sounds like stereo but not surround. The music and special effects seem to come from the front too. And I think the dynamic range is compressed. When the seismic charges go ker-chung! in the asteroid belt, it's no more ear-shattering than the rest of the movie.
Overall, I recommend digital projector over IMAX for this movie. The colors in digital are amazingly bright. The projection is just as rock steady and defect-free. It's bright. The sound is good. And best of all the animation won't seem ridiculously blurry.