I Just Watched My First Movie In 4DX, And As A Theme Park Fan, I'm Angry I Didn't Do This Sooner (2025)

While a lot of people have clearly decided that the theatrical experience is no longer a requirement, I still love going to the movies. I still go at least once a week, sometimes more often, and I still get a thrill when the lights dim and the story begins. However, on my most recent trip to the theater, I got an entirely different thrill, and I was not prepared for how much I was going to enjoy the experience.

If there is one place that I enjoy more than a movie theater, it’s a theme park. I’m lucky enough to be CinemaBlend’s resident theme park expert. I get to visit Disney and Universal parks usually multiple times a year and I never get tired of going on my favorite rides. But my most recent trip to the movies felt like a trip to the theme parks, and why didn’t somebody tell me I could do that?

Novocaine In 4DX Is A Wild Ride

This week I attended a screening of the new movie Novocaine (which we reviewed) starring Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder. It’s an absolutely wild film, hilarious in parts, gory in parts, and gory to the point of hilarity in parts. Critics widely seem to like it and for the right audience, it will be a fantastic and fun time at the movies. But if you happen to see the movie in 4DX, then things get even crazier.

I had never experienced a 4DX movie in my life, but the screening I attended was only being presented that way, and while I had a basic understanding of what I was in for, I was not prepared for just how hard this experience was going to go.

When Quaid’s character gets thrown across the room in a fight scene, the chair I was sitting in roughly simulated the movement, honestly making me grab hold of the chair to be sure I wouldn’t be thrown out. When a character on screen took a punchy, I felt it via a haptic feedback sensor in my back. When a machine gun went off, I felt a breeze blow past my face. When somebody got shot in the head and blood sprayed everywhere, I felt water spray on me.

4DX was an experience that I certainly wouldn’t need or want for most movies, but for Novocaine, it certainly added to the experience. I’ve never experienced a movie quite like it, at least not one I watched outside a theme park.

4DX Is Basically A Motion Simulator Attraction

While having the experience of Novacine in 4DX was new for me at the local multiplex, it certainly wasn’t new for me as a theme park fan. 4DX is basically like riding Star Tours but for an hour and a half, and it includes water effects that Star Tours couldn't have.

But, I love Star Tours; it's one of the best rides at Disneyland even today. And I love so many of the other great theme park attractions that 4DX reminded me of. It has many of the same effects you'll get in a 3D movie at a theme park, like the soon-to-be-defunct Muppet*Vision 3D, combined with everything from a motion simulator attraction. None of the effects I experienced in 4DX were anything I hadn't seen at Disneyland before, but they worked remarkably well in the theatrical environment.

As a fan of theme parks, but one who can't visit them every day, I'll certainly be keeping 4DX in mind going forward. Maybe, if there's a particular movie that looks like a good fit, or if I have a particular need for a theme park fix, I'll go back again.

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