'Godzilla: King of the Monsters': What does 4DX add to the film?

In competing with rising numbers of streaming services and VoD, the film industry has had to come up with innovative ways to keep audiences coming to the cinema, which means now going to see a film, you can choose between 2D, 3D, IMAX, and even 4DX.

But what is 4DX?

It is a novel way of entering the world of cinema as it encompasses all five senses to draw you closer to the story.

The seats track the movement on screen, wind tousles your hair, when there’s lightning, strobe lights flash around you, and if there’s a screech of tyres you might pick up a scent of burning rubber.

Along with the heightened experience comes a heightened ticket price - a peak time adult 2D ticket would cost around £12.70 while the 4DX 3D viewing can set you back £25.20.

Currently in the UK it is only available at 22 cinemas at Cineworld, so we headed to the chain’s Leicester Square venue to check it out for ourselves watching Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

The main event

Going into a 4DX film, I had no idea what to expect.

As a child I had been on ‘The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man’ ride in Universal Studios Japan, where the movements were jerky, the seats were uncomfortable and we were given cardboard 3D glasses with red and blue plastic shades, rendering the film an unnatural colour.

Therefore that was the only experience I had to go on when entering Cineworld’s 4DX cinema for a viewing of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

The seats were wide, plush and cozy, meaning that at first I was lulled into a false sense of security and settled down into the chair to watch the film.

By the end of the trailers my friend and I were already clutching onto each other, totally unprepared for the onslaught of the senses.

From the title alone, it was obvious that there were going to be many monster fights, but the sheer scale of the battles makes the humans seem incredibly insignificant as you are quite literally thrown into the world of titans.

The whole seat was utilised to maximum effect, swaying from side to side, the blasts of air around your ankles to ears, depending on whether it’s a falling rock or a bullet whizzing by, the rain that not only sprays from in front but also drips from above, and most unexpectedly, the bumps that hit your back, almost like a massage chair.

There were a couple of serene moments where dialogue took place in a snow storm and white foam came cascading down the sides of the screen, or a breakfast scene between the mother and daughter and the scent of coffee wafted towards us, which set the ambience well.

After the film, my friend and I needed to pop into a cafe and have a cup of tea to calm down and readjust to the real world.

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I can see how 4DX could enhance films, especially action and horror films, when every thud of the behemoth’s feet is accentuated by a rumble of the seats itself, it can be both an exhilarating and terrifying experience.

I’m just glad I didn’t buy a bucket of popcorn as I’m sure more than half would have ended up on the floor and/or covered the person sitting next to me.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is in cinemas now.