Mission: Impossible director 'not convinced' by 3D films

Filmmaker Brad Bird says he's "not convinced" that 3D is the future of cinema.

The director of the new Mission: Impossible movie, Ghost Protocol, says he chose not to shoot the film in 3D.

"I think that any time you have a new toy, people feel excited about it and then they overuse it," he said.

"I remain interested in 3D but I'm not exactly convinced yet. What I'm more interested in is really high resolution, and really big screens."

The 54-year-old says that although he hasn't used the format himself yet, he respects what other directors have done with 3D.

"I loved what [Avatar director] James Cameron did, I can't wait to see what Peter Jackson does with The Hobbit, particularly with increased frame rates.

"But for me I don't like the glasses so much, and it's a little dark."

'Incredible detail'

Bird says he wants the cinema experience to be as enjoyable as possible for the audience.

"I think people are forgetting about the power of a really sharp bright image on a really big screen.

"That's why we filmed 25 minutes of this film in IMAX, which is a giant negative process that's cumbersome, but the image quality is amazing.

Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg star in the new Mission Impossible film

"So it allowed us to capture sequences like the one where Tom [Cruise] climbs the highest building in the world with incredible detail."

The director says cinemas often use cost-cutting measures when showing films, which compromises their quality.

"I think multiplexes have shrunk down auditorium sizes, and people are forgetting how great it is to see a really big image with a group of people in the dark. I mean that's movies, man.

"I don't like it when we kill ourselves to make these images great and then you go to the theatre and the guy has the bulb turned down to get more hours out of it, and you see this dim image.

"I mean we see the images great and we want the public to see them great, and that's why we wanted to open this film in premium theatre screens. We wanted all the first people who saw this film to see it at its best."

Tom Cruise, Paula Patton and Simon Pegg star in the new Mission: Impossible film.

Earlier this week, Pegg told Newsbeat that he'd like to take on more serious acting roles in the future.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is released in the UK on 26 December.