Yesterday, we were invited to experience Top Gun: Maverick at a Screen X theater in Los Angeles. And let me tell you: it took our breath away!

It’s an odd thing to do a review on top of a review for an already reviewed movie. So bear with me if this is weird. That being said, I’d honestly never seen a film in Screen X, and let me tell you, it was a completely different mega experience.

For those who don’t know what Screen X is, while IMAX utilizes larger screens from a horizontal standpoint, Screen X utilizes wrap around screens that appear on the left and right walls of a theater, in addition to the center screen. And as such, it provides a much more immersive experience than your average theatrical experience.

Now in regards to a film like Top Gun: Maverick, that experience is all the more important because the thrilling appeal of a movie like Maverick is the idea that director Joseph Kosinski and Tom Cruise want to put the audience right there in the cockpit with them, when soaring at supersonic speeds right into the sky. And that’s where Screen X enhances the experience. While not every scene is utilizing the wraparound screens (I don’t know why anyone would want to be immersed in the romance scenes between Cruise and Jennifer Connelly), the screens expand during the most critical moments to increase the tension these top fighter pilots are experiencing when they’re flying through a canyon or dodging missiles in a dog fight. And it works beautifully.

They wanted to put me in a jet with Tom Cruise and they succeeded. Every hairpin turn, every steep ascension, and every speed barrier broken is felt as if you were the one flying the jet. And it’s because you’re staring at parts of the jet and the sky whooshing by to the left and right peripherals, as you focus on the center of the screen. Combined with the quality of the booming and crystal clear sound the theater had, you truly felt like you were in the sky with these pilots.

In essence, watching Top Gun: Maverick in Screen X was akin to viewing the movie in a theme park, but without the seat shaking, potentially nausea inducing intensity of a 4DX experience. So if you’re really looking for a truly different, immersive and thrilling theatrical experience, that will really make you feel like part of the movie, definitely check out Top Gun: Maverick in Screen X!

Top Gun: Maverick hits theaters this Friday!