Oh it's definitely a gimmick, like HD.

I saw A Christmas Carol last week on an ordinary sized cinema screen using RealD and I was suitably impressed. The circular polarisation on the glasses lenses are much better than old linear design, you lose very little light in the process and the 3D effect is maintained even if you're waggling your head round.

The first 3D film I saw was one of the Harry Potters in the IMAX which had a 3D sequence using a previous 3D system which was pretty crap.

I've witnessed a couple of good home cinemas, but unless you're a nutter with nothing else to spend your money on or a premier league footballer, it's never going to be as good as a quiet cinema for reasons of scale alone. If I ever did build my big bastard house, one floor would be for the cinema alone. But I'd still end up at the cinema for the big releases.

Also, one of the perks of working shifts was going to the cinema in the afternoon. Then you only had amorous students to worry about!