‘Star Trek Beyond’ in Barco Escape – Review

Over the weekend, the Nerd Fu crew set out on a mission, to boldly go where few have gone before. We screened Star Trek Beyond in an entirely new format called Barco Escape and we’re here to share the details.

Disclosure: We were not paid for this review, but we did receive free tickets to see the film in this new experience.

WHAT IS BARCO ESCAPE?

In short, the Barco Escape is a viewing experience that gives fans a bigger, richer movie experience. Instead of one screen, you get three. This new option in cinema almost surrounds movie-goers by wrapping the three screens around the front of the theater.

The same sort of technology has been used in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con for years (in a handful of presentations) and has always provided a “larger than life” experience. It’s kind of amazing that no one has tried it on a national scale before.

 

STAR TREK BEYOND IN BARCO ESCAPE

The latest installment in the Star Trek franchise makes use of the new technology by incorporating all three screens in “select sequences” of the movie.

Throughout Beyond, there are segments that use all three screens to provide a wider view, especially in those epic space battles. At other times, the side screens are used to provide a sort of ambient visual noise. When not is use, the screens are blank.

Check out the Barco trailer for Star Trek Beyond (below). This gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

 

OUR THOUGHTS ON BARCO ESCAPE

The Barco Escape experience is still very new. In fact, there are only 15 theaters in the U.S. that currently offer Star Trek Beyond using the technology.  Five of us attended the screening and discussed the film afterward.

The consensus among the group was that we like the new Barco Escape option. For some of us, the back-and-forth switching between 3 screens and 1 was a bit jarring. For others, the alignment of the side screens and main screen seemed a bit off, which might have simply been a calibration issue.

All-in-all, we all agreed that there is something very unique and attractive about the experience. If future films can be filmed specifically for this format, and make use of all three screens for the duration of the film, we might find ourselves spending the extra cash on the tickets for certain films.

Ultimately, the choice is yours. For more information on the Barco Experience and to see if there is a theater near you that offers it, head to http://barcoescape.com.