Mix one part video game and equal parts action with just a dash of graphic novel and a double shot of adrenaline, and you get
The Limit VR.
In The Limit, you are a rogue agent with a mysterious past who seeks help from Super-Assassin M-13 (Michelle Rodriguez) to get back your identity and fight the bad guys.
Utilizing VR180 to the fullest, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Alita: Battle Angel, Spy Kids) teamed up with his son, Racer Max to create The Limit, a 20-minute action film. Starring Michelle Rodriguez (Lost, Avatar, Fast & Furious)
and Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead, The Boondock Saints) in an over the top roller coaster ride that keeps you in the action as a first person POV (point of view) narrative.
Rodriguez takes chances by keeping the Immersive cinema experience firmly rooted in the first person, and this is a very bold move.
There are times when you feel exhausted by the constant driving frenetic pace, but it serves the story and short duration well.
You should be tired, watching this movie is work.
It is available for the Google Daydream, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, and Oculus Go.
In addition, it will be released for Android phones with cardboard viewers, and versions for iOS, PlayStation VR and Windows Mixed Reality are supposed to come soon.
The Oculus Go that I used is an excellent VR headset for viewing the movie. It is comfortable, and the immersive audio is excellent.
For those of you who are prone to motion sickness, the movie is offered in both 2D or 3D. But the real fun is in the 3D version where the punches, flips, kicks and getting thrown out of an airplane really make you feel like a part of it.
This is not a sit in your armchair and be a vegetable kind of movie.
This is a physically duck when a punch is thrown at you kind of film.
You ARE in the film.
The Limit is more than just the name of the film; it is the approach that Robert
And Racer Max applied to the entire filmmaking experience.
Along with strong collaboration from Michelle Rodriguez, they constantly pushed the limits of what was perceived as the boundaries of what could be done with this new medium.
Some of the old rules of filming in 3D stereoscopic were tossed out the window, and whole new ways of shooting materialized.
There are times when you are not sure if a shot works but the driving force of the action keeps you moving through the highs and lows.
Even the Surreal Theater that you virtually are sitting in violates the typical VR180 space.
Instead of black space behind you, you have a faux theater environment with theater seats and even an entrance/exit area in the back of the theater.
This does a great job of setting the stage for the action in front of you.
There were a couple of scenes that I wanted to look around more, but again the action keeps you looking forward so that you don’t miss anything.
This is certainly not a la-di-da 360 look all over video.
This is a get up and run narrative action movie.
The camera used was a RED with ann Entaniya 250mm Fisheye lens. The 3D was all created in post-production.
The VR app is very nicely packaged with both the 2D & 3D version as I mentioned earlier
but also a “Making the Limit” and “Storytelling in VR”, Behind the Scenes pieces, a 2D trailer,
Director’s Commentary
Chapter selections, a wonderful Director’s Commentary
and even a Feedback area which directs to where you can go online to leave your comments.
This reminds me of a VR app version of a typical Blu-Ray package, where you get all the goodies and extras along with the main movie.
Quite a deal for the $9.99 price tag.
STX states that it is the most widely distributed paid VR movie so far.
Hollywood-grade visual effects house (DNEG)
handle everything from heads-up displays to a burning aircraft.
More titles are on the way as well.
A Jay and Silent Bob VR Experience (with Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith)
and a currently unnamed Dave Bautista action-comedy.
The firm is trying to corner the VR movie market while it’s still in it’s infancy.
Personally I’m excited to see the next one that they come out with!