Editor’s Note:  This piece comes to us from one of our long term readers, who went to see the IMAX Game Of Thrones event.  I know you Aggressors will be kind, because Gwen is awesome.

GAME OF THRONES: IMAX

by Gwen:

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Aggressors I – like many of you I’m sure – consider myself an avid Game of Thrones fan.  I have read all the books, memorized most of the great family trees, watched all my favorite characters go through hardship, heartbreak and sometimes (alright, often) sobbed like a baby through their respective death scenes.  So believe me when I tell you that I had very high expectations when I went to see the GoT IMAX Experience this past week.

I was expecting the worst and hoping for the best. I find that’s often a very pragmatic way of looking at life in general.

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 It might not translate well to an enormous screen, the sound could be off, the theater I go to could possibly not care at all, it could be crowded and awful, drunk people could throw things at Daenerys Targaryen’s face! All these worries cropped up throughout my day leading up to the late-night showing.

Thankfully, all my worries were most definitely unfounded.  The theater was huge and upon finding my seats I was suddenly very worried that my vertigo might crop up. Once the show started however, I was instantly transported to Westeros.

Amazing scene from "Watchers On The Wall", the battle of the Wildlings and the Night's Watch.
Amazing scene from “Watchers On The Wall”, the battle of the Wildlings and the Night’s Watch.

I watched Jon Snow fight the Wildling army at the Battle of Castle Black in all it’s glorious, bloody splendor. I witnessed firsthand the very timely and malodorous end of Tywin Lannister, almost as if I was in that privy with him and his son, Tyrion. The fight between Sandor “The Hound” Clegane and Brienne of Tarth? It was so big and close that I felt phantom pains every time one of them was brutally injured by the other.

This is a show that holds up very well to being larger than life, both physically and metaphorically. On an enormous screen, I felt as if I could fully appreciate the incredible choreography of the fight scenes. I noticed tears running down the actors faces that I had previously missed, and I was able to see the amazingly delicate details that went into the costume design.

This was the poster theaters gave away for the first few days of the IMAX experience.
This was the poster theaters gave away for the first few days of the IMAX experience.

 Plus, hearing Westeros on a sound system that good? Mildly addicting.

 All in all it was a lovely experience, my only issue was with the broad sweeping scenery shots as they were much blurrier than I would have liked. By the time the show got to one of those shots, I had already become accustomed to noticing intricate detail all over the screen.

 I desperately hope that HBO and local theaters will continue to have these in-theater showings. I will be there with Dothraki victory bells on.

Game of Thrones returns to HBO for it’s 5th season on April 12th, 2015. Check local listings for times.

ABOUT >> Mary Anne Butler
  • ACCOUNT NAME >> Mab
  • BIO >> Mary Anne Butler (Mab) is a reporter and photographer from San Francisco California. She is a lifelong geek, huge music nerd, occasionally cosplays at conventions, does Renaissance Faires, and in general lives the life of a True Believer. She may be short, but she makes up for it with a loud voice.
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