VOTD: Every 3D Movie Is The Same

Watch enough movies, and you'll find that you occasionally walk out of the theater sometimes with the vaguely disappointing feeling that you've just shelled out $14 to see a movie you're already seen before. Sometimes, it's no surprise that a film looks derivative — did anyone really expect Underworld: Awakening to wow us with its originality, for example? — but even great movies fall prey to old habits sometimes. The Avengers was exhilarating, but Lord knows we've seen the dear old Big Apple demolished more than a few times before, and often in very similar ways at that.

The Funny or Die folks point out the most familiar repeating shots and motifs in a video titled "Every 3D Movie is the Same." Unfortunately, it seems their theoretical fact-checkers were dozing on the job, since a handful of the movies they cite were not, in fact, released in 3D. But even so, their point stands. Perhaps they should've just retitled it "Every Studio Action Movie is the Same"? Watch it after the jump.

[via Funny or Die]

Just to be clear, Battleship, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol didn't hit theaters in 3D. And while G.I. Joe: Retaliation is currently being converted to the format, the footage used in this video has never been shown in 3D.

Still, the montage of side-by-side clips make a convincing case for the old adage that there's nothing new under the sun. As movie ticket prices continue to go up, up, up — and as theaters eagerly slap 3D and IMAX premiums on top of them — maybe this video can remind you to be wary of shelling out your hard-earned dollars on blockbusters that look a little too samey. A movie like Brave has plenty to offer besides establishing shots of mountain scenery and archery action sequences, but if you've already seen Transformers: Dark of the Moon, don't even bother with Battleship.