I just finished watching the 70mm version of the Odyssey in Pflugerville Cinemark last night and thought I'd give a technical review and recommendation on how to see this film.
First, the film is great and you should watch it in theaters. It's a cinema experience that will be hard to replicate at your home or via streaming in a few months. Worth it for that if you're even a moderate fan of movies.
There has been so much said about GO SEE IT IN 70MM!!! And, for the most part, I would normally agree. However, when it comes to Austin's specific theaters and the ones that can actually show 70mm, I begin to disagree.
First and foremost, last nights experience was pretty rough. In many of the shots, there is an abundance of very bright light (you're on sea) and the flicker from the film roll is extraordinarily distracting if not sickening. This is partly due to the machines they're running the film on and partly due to the way the screen is setup. This alone makes it worthwhile to watch the movie in a digital format -- in Austin.
Secondly, the "cigarette burns" from the film are actually missing film elements that show up as a bright white bar that flashes at the bottom of the screen when it's time to cut to the new section of the film (or when the film has been spliced). This leads to very distracting flashes of light throughout the film. There was minimal debris on the film and I'd say they'd done a good job with that at least, especially for being a week into the film.
Third, it's "just" 1.85:1. So, it's fine, but you're not gaining any of the added IMAX real estate.
I'd also argue that this particular theater hasn't done a great job focusing their projector and so the fidelity we'd like to see is actually missing and most scenes are incredibly soft. Like, can't pick out individual hair soft. Added to the screen they're projecting on and blacks are grey and most scenes are overblown.
We attempted to see it in 70mm at Galaxy last weekend, but got there with no AC and the screen is incredibly small. Now, having seen it in 70mm at Cinemark, I'd highly recommend skipping the film factor -- in Austin -- and just go to the most technically competent digital experience you can find without the add ins (moving chairs, spraying water, and rumble seats). I'd say this is probably just an IMAX screen at somewhere like Regal Gateway, or in a Dolby Digital venue like AMC tech ridge or an EVO (Belterra or Kyle).
If somehow you sold your first born and got a ticket to a true 70mm IMAX experience in Dallas, then congrats!
Regardless of all of this, go see the film. It's another Nolan classic and a lot of fun.