James Cameron has a dream. A dream that one day all ticket stubs will come with a pair of special specs. That a time will come when 3D will be so standard that the only movies that will need to declare their stereoscopic status on posters will be the ones that are still in only two dimensions.

Cameron – a man who has made a personal fortune of $350m (£226m) from his 3D vision – doubtless means this as rhetoric: soon, moviegoers will no longer tolerate anything so outmoded that you can’t reach out and touch it. Best tell them up front if they are going to be short-changed.

But while 3D is a wonderful enhancement – a liberating, thrilling advance in moviemaking – it is an enhancement none the less. To try to turn it into a default risks both losing its novelty and misunderstanding the relationship between the viewer and the film.

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