I think there are a lot of misconceptions about the format, the biggest of which is that it can be rolled out as an elective “premium” experience on a traditional 24fps release the way studios release in IMAX or 3D. That is, of course, a terrible idea. 120fps has its own specific visual (and, I suspect, performance) requirements that must be tailored to the format. The unsophisticated analogy would be that 24fps vs. 120fps is like a master shot vs. a close up. You don’t light the master the way you would light a close up and you don’t perform in the master with the same degree of subtlety that one would in a close up. A nuanced, eye twitch of a performance in the master would get lost and the broad strokes performance of the master would look over-the top in the close up. Same here.

That said, Rodrigo Perez’s observations, as inexact as they may be, serve as the canary in the coalmine. I suspect his criticisms are far more nuanced than the Twitter/social media audience reviews will be. Introducing the audience to 120fps in a half-baked way, as this film apparently has done, will only serve to stigmatize a format that has incredible untapped potential. I suspect that when someone uses it on a project that requires a heightened authenticity and/or immediacy (I am thinking “Cloverfield”-ish or “Hardcore Henry”-ish) or finds a way to use it to highlight a singular sequence in an otherwise 24fps film (Osama bin Laden raid in “Zero Dark Thirty” comes to mind), people will start to get it.

Until then, the best we can do is help reviewers and audiences to understand their own reactions and to help them to separate a less-than-stellar 120fps execution from the potential of the format itself. It would be a shame if they gave up on the format entirely.

Shooting on 35mm has nothing to do with the frame-rate with which the movie was shot or projected. 35mm (assuming we’re talking about “Film” as a recording intermediate and not as a size reference to the film-stock or sensor) can be shot at a wide variety of frame-rates beyond the standard 24 which are being used for “modern”-day cinema.

Writing a review is one thing, but writing and judging technological aspects without the proper knowledge is irresponsible towards the audience, the filmmakers and the medium itself. Especially as it’s spreading wrong information and superficial knowledge.

If You don’t like HFR and prefer 24fps that’s absolutely ok.
But saying things like “hi-def frame rate” (you just combined two different things, High-Definition & (High) Frame-Rate, into one) and mentioning The Hobbit’s “artificial look” (less choppy and closer to what the human eye sees would be the proper expression) is just plain wrong and hence irresponsible.

I don’t even know what to say about this line “This unattractive, even unintentionally comical look is hard to accept”. Pretentious and condescending are two words that come to mind.

Having done this sort of work for 25 years, my hunch is that for 120fps to truly shine, the lighting needs to feel equally realistic. Un-movie. Scrap the backlights and cross lights, and go very gentle with the fill. The lighting needs to feel “available light” and not at all sweetened or stylized. I think in that context, and with scenes allowed to play primarily in the master, and with the right genre, 120fps could be a real asset.

So far, I think the temptation has been to shoot 120fps with an eye towards also releasing in 24fps. Because the two formats have opposing visual requirements, the dp has to choose which format to execute properly. Because most audiences will see it at 24fps, it makes sense that the cinematographer would choose a more traditional approach. Good 120fps lighting would read as flat and lifeless at 24fps. And good 24fps lighting would look artificial at 120fps. For the format to be executed properly, the powers that be would need to commit exclusively to a release in 120fps or accept a subpar 24fps experience. As of yet, no one wants to do that. Maybe James Cameron or someone on that level will have the pull to make an exclusive 120fps release happen.

Once again, haven’t seen this particular film. Just my opinion based on the images.