ROUNDUP REVIEW: NASCAR 3D: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE

Too bad they don't sell beer at the IMAX theater. There's something about this film's Southern sunshine and shorts-sportin' throngs that could make even the snobbiest city-dweller wish, for just a second, that they were sitting atop an RV parked in the infield, drinking a cold one.

In fact, it's the unconverted who might get the most out of this characteristically educational IMAX overview, which trips along from a re-enactment of stock car racing's origins to its mechanics and rules to race day. True fans (i.e., the people who are most likely to buy tickets) probably know a lot of this stuff already, and they might be disappointed by the lack of drama and the brevity of 3-D racing action.

Still, if your child or date needs a little NASCAR 101, this is a quick, painless way to expose him or her to the rock-infused religion of racing (where, as narrator Kiefer Sutherland explains in the film's good ol' lingo, "the sermon is speed and heaven is a checkered flag"). Even if they don't get the sport, they might still get the appeal of its atmosphere and fetishes.

(2 stars)

"NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience" opens Friday at IMAX theaters, Navy Pier, Lincolnshire and Woodridge. Running time: 48 minutes. MPAA rating: PG (some crash scenes).

- Ellen Fox