Breathtaking

Rating: Null/10 (14 November 2004)

I must say I was looking forward to this film since I heard of its existence. The night before my wife and I were scheduled to see it in the cinema I went through the Polar Express movie homepage and discovered the IMAX 3D version of the film. We(I) decided that we had to see it in the full glory of a 5 story screen and in the 3D. It being my first such movie I was astounded, the visuals are amazing, although that word alone does not do it justice. The best way to describe them is that toward the end of the film, I tried to brush away a snowflake falling on my leg, only to realize, AFTER I had done so, that it was not real. The locomotive and different railroad elements are spot on. Being trained as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman/engineer I know a lot of the equipment and how it should behave. I found not one error, and their inclusion of railroad slang was perfect for the situations/time they were in. The story is remarkable and I will not ruin any of it but I must say that I fought tears through several parts of the film. My only complaint is the "Rockin' On Top of the World" song by Stephen Tyler, it just doesn't fit the feel of the movie, however, the rest of the score is again superb. With this one fault there is still no way I can describe how fantastic this film is in the 3D and most likely out. If you are looking for that innocence and blind faith that you had when you were a child, go see this film, you might just find it.