Recently, I earned enough loyalty program points at the Megaplex to receive a free movie.  As a MoviePass card holder, this is not a big win. I started to think of friends to whom I could give the certificate.

Then I noticed that the coupon said it was good for ANY movie.  I inquired at the service desk.  Yep, I could use it for D-Box.

D-Box has been around for years, but I had never given it a try.  For those not aware, D-Box is a slightly larger movie chair that is built to give the movie-goer a more tactile experience.  Their website describes it as “an incredible immersive cinematic motion experience, which is in sync with the action on the screen, immersing viewers in the movie to the point where they literally feel part of it.”

To have a D-Box seat at my local theater is an additional $8. As someone who tended to wait for $5 dollar Tuesdays, I was not usually inclined toward the added expense.  However, since I had a free pass, I decided to give it a go.

I sprung for another ticket so I could bring my son along for the experience – $18.95 to see Black Panther.  I justified it in my mind by thinking that my son and I were experiencing D-Box for less than 10 bucks each.

In the theater, there were about 30 D-Box chairs that were positioned in the middle of all of the other seats.  When we sat down we noticed a button on the right armrest that had 3 settings – to control the intensity of the experience.

Black Panther started with an action sequence and my D-Box chair went to work.  As guns fired, my chair shimmied in perfect sync.  When Black Panther sent a villain slamming into a truck, I felt a measure of the impact. As he dodged left, so did I.  When he leaped into the air, I experienced a moment of weightlessness.

As we moved into slower paced scenes, my D-Box chair interplay became more subtle but never seemed to disappear.  If there was a knock at the door, I felt it.

Obviously, the D-Box shines during big action sequences in big action movies.  You won’t  see Molly’s Game with a D-Box option.

So what did I think?  I have a mixed reaction.  It was fun, but I also found it a little distracting.  However, I recognize it was my first time using it.  I suspect after many D-Box movie experiences, the distraction would fade away and the immersion would really take hold.

Maybe… but I will probably never find out.

As a MoviePass member, I get my movies for “free”.  I do not have the option (presently) of merely adding the additional $8 to my ticket.  I would need to pay the full $18+.  That is a bit above my pay grade.

So, for now, it will remain a treat that I get every couple months when I earn enough reward points.

Have you experienced D-Box?  What did you think?