Dear readers, now is definitely the moment to start you engines. The 2025 movie schedule saw F1’s impressive opening box office mark the start of another hit at the movies. But what’s more important is the fact that director/co-writer Joseph Kosinski and his team have landed an even greater victory: they marketed and delivered one of the most artistic 4DX-periences on the market.
I’m not going to waste any more time, because this premium format joy ride may very well be off the market before I finish raving about it. But if you need a little more selling, or if you want to know what you missed with F1’s 4DX variant, then this is the place to be. Let’s drop the green flag and get to it, shall we?
Joseph Kosinski’s Hype For F1 In 4DX Is Totally Justified
Top Gun: Maverick mastermind has been filming with smaller IMAX cameras, giving us some pretty amazing views of action most people never get to witness in their lives. But with 4DX, even he seems surprised by how amazing the results are, as you’ll see in this promo video:
F1’s wild 4DX trailer, the racetrack in question became even more of a daunting task to live up to. Even in those early looks at what the motion seating was promising, I consistently saw audiences being wowed by how rough the ride got when that format enhanced sizzle reel would shift into gear.
Unlike How to Train Your Dragon’s 3D/4DX version, the hype in the trailer was only the beginning, as F1 really took advantage of motion seating in a way I’d never felt before. Yes, it got rough, but there was a precisely dialed level of action at all times. Revisiting the traumatic early wreck in the career of driver/mentor Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), we get thrown around, but never truly hit the wall like he does.
That shock is saved for later, when other moments of peril see him and young upstart Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) racing for their legacies; and it’s just a small example of how dialed in the seats are on F1. Different vehicle types, track conditions, and even engine condition are all taken into account – and no two experiences are alike.
Jurassic World Rebirth’s upcoming release looks like it’ll change that. I’m going to be observing those effects rather keenly after F1, thanks to the moments that did use moisture based storytelling were absolute stand outs.
Two separate races see rainy conditions befall Sonny and Joshua’s team, and that’s the first time we really get to feel the water on ourselves. Employing the ceiling based fan systems to help further sell the illusion, the seat mounted units weren’t really used – and that’s with purpose.
Although the best 4DX water effect is used at the end, which is going to require spoilers for F1. I’ll save those for the storytelling section below, so you have time to punch out and read our F1 review when those plot details start to pour in.
Sinners’ insanely fun 4DX romp, this would be it.
28 Years Later’s 4DX presentation had left me with.
Even more impressive is the fact that the final lap of Sonny’s victorious showing in Abu Dhabi achieves the exact feeling APXGP team owner Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) sells with his dialogue. He tells us that Sonny is flying, and the care put into that feast of a moment feels as angelic as it sounds; a contrast from all of the struggles shown before.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’s 4DX variant, I think it’s time these two giants meet to put their heads together.
I know there’s an Ultra4DX format that seems to be dawning upon us, where ScreenX and 4DX are merged into what feels like one crazy intense ride. But that being said, I’ve heard that ScreenX really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be with its extension of the picture, as those other side screens are simply stock imagery themed after the movie in question.
If we’re really going to play with power here, I think we need to put the best of the best together in the ultimate format. IMAX and 4DX need to partner together and give us something reminiscent of those theme park motion simulators we all know and love from the past. Except this would be at a participating theater near you, showing movies like F1 in all of their glory.
For now, all I’ll say is if you’re reading this before the release of Jurassic World Rebirth, you need to go see F1 in 4DX. And if you’re reading this after the fact, then perhaps this Labor Day could see the picture brought back in all of its splendor. It worked for Twisters’ 4DX revival last year, and this is a prime candidate for the same sort of treatment in 2025.