Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Ninan HKIS I watched this movie for my World Religions class, as we have been studying Islam. Prior to the film, though I had knowledge about the Hajj and what is is, it wasn't until after watching the movie that I really realized how huge and amazing it is. "Journey to Mecca" is a great movie showing Mecca from a different perspective and telling the true story of Ibn Battuta's long journey to Mecca.Ibn is a rich and religious law student in Tangier in 1325, when he decides to go on the Hajj. Ibn has to travel from Morocco across the North African desert to get to Saudi Arabia, and along the way, he is attacked by bandits, he becomes dehydrated, he is rescued by the desert Bedouins, and eventually joins a caravan of thousands of people on their way to Mecca. Joining Ibn, is the Highwayman, paid for protecting Ibn. Through their travels Ibn and the Highwayman become friends. Upon finally reaching Mecca, Ibn experiences the Hajj like it was 700 years ago.I personally found the movie really cool. First of all, it was filmed so beautifully, the shots were amazing. I also liked how the filmmakers combined the story of Ibn Battuta with modern Mecca. Ibn Battuta's story was one that I had never heard before so it was really interesting learning about someone so crucial to the spreading of Islam. I really appreciated that the movie was not that long as well.

Ebonyks I saw this film and was blown away by the technical shortcomings, more specifically, how out of focus this entire film is. I'm not a regular Imax viewer, and this may be a very common problem, but it seemed as if virtually none of the film was in focus. I'd say less than 20-30% of footage had a clear focal point, and that was typically less than 10-20% of the total screen. The only exceptions were scenes involving CGI maps.The topic was interesting, my knowledge of the hajj was limited prior to seeing this, and the film created the 14th century cities with style, but technical issues impacted my enjoyment of this film. It's a shame too, there are so many seemingly beautiful desert landscapes in this movie.

ng Journey to Mecca is really two IMAX films in one. It starts and ends with a documentary approach to modern Mecca and in between is tied with the story of Ibn Battuta, an adventurer from the 14th Century. Obviously, in the length of an IMAX, anyone expecting the Arabian Nights covering 40 years of his life in 40 minutes is going to be disappointed. Instead, the film concentrates on his 'Journey to Mecca', a story of shipwrecks and banditry. I thought it was a smart way to go, spicing up what is at heart, a most serious movie, with sword fights while never letting go of the religious quest that is at the heart of the Hajj. Most impressive of all are the shots of the modern pilgrims. Any one who's jaw doesn't drop at the sight of millions of men and women dressed all in white, covering a mountain top, doesn't know the true meaning of the word 'epic'.

Anthony Journey to Mecca tells the story of a young lawyer from Morroco - Ibn Battuta who traveled from Morocco to Mecca and later to China about 700 years ago. He traveled more than 4,000 kilometers over desert by himself, dealing with bandits, wars, and the Sahara on the way.The images in this HUGE Imax film of the Sahara, Mecca and Arab culture are stunning and memorable. I have to say it was one of the first IMAX film where I really felt moved (along with Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure). The explanation of the Haj are clear and informing.This was apparently a very hard movie to film. They had to get approval by the King of Saudi to shoot it. Also none of the crew were allowed to view the Kabba so they had to hire and train a local crew specially for the task.The result is a stunning experience of a movie. Excellent story, excellent movie… Highly recommended