Originally published to X on October 8, 2023.

Whenever visitors to the Las Vegas valley see the newest glimmering, glowing orb adjacent to the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, many have the same reaction.

“That’s cool. What is it?”

On Friday night, Sphere, for the first time, got to show off its party trick. Aside from being a futuristic concert venue, the building hosts “Sphere experiences,” short films that play on the 16K screen inside. Officials from Sphere Entertainment call it the “highest resolution LED screen on Earth.”

Before walking into the theater, however, the experience begins in the Atrium, where humanoid robots called Aura greet visitors. Guests can interact with the animatronic-style figures. The Atrium experience borrows its feel and tone from Disney theme parks, and its sound design and visual styling obviously owes a lot to those Imagineers who paved the way.

Sphere Entertainment officials call Postcard from Earth a “cinematic feature.” Directed by Academy Award-nominated director Darren Aronofsky, expecting a narrative film from Postcard from Earth wouldn’t be out of the question. Instead, when the film begins, it becomes immediately apparent that the theme park comparison doesn’t end in the Atrium.

Postcard from Earth is less of a film and more of a theme park ride. With the directorial gravitas of Aronofsky behind it, one could be forgiven for expecting more. However, the Sphere experience is more akin to Disney’s Soarin’ Over California, with a thin narrative overlay bookending the imagery.

Where Postcard succeeds is in the unbelievably sharp and lifelike images. When done well, Sphere’s proprietary and never-before-seen display takes viewers in and transports them to other places using a variety of different and immersive techniques. The technology here is, at times, mind-blowing.

However, those expecting a cinematic narrative befitting the prestige indicated by previous Aronofsky projects may be disappointed. The science fiction wraparound is, undoubtedly, the weakest part of Postcard from Earth and is entirely unnecessary to the experience, even serving as detrimental at points.

Sphere is a forward-thinking, mind-blowing venue. Whether it’s a concert or a film, there’s nothing else on the planet quite like the presentation tech used therein. Hopefully, a filmmaker will one day utilize Sphere, creating a proper film with a compelling narrative that stands on its own and is elevated by the never-before-used technology. For now, the offering is more akin to a theme park ride, albeit a good one. As long as visitors tune their expectations to that fact, they aren’t likely to be disappointed.