AMC Universal City 19 With IMAX

Horrible, horrible experience at AMC IMAX in Universal City. We were barely an hour into ‘The Dark Knight – IMAX’ this afternoon (1:20) when the sound became out of sync with the action on the screen! 

At first, the audience just shouted at the projection booth and laughed (it was like an old foreign-language movie where the dubbed dialogue doesn’t match the movement of the actors’ lips), but after ten minutes of absolutely no improvement or explanation, the audience got mad and started walking out. Then belatedly there was an announcement that we could stay to finish the movie as is (huh?) or go to the lobby to get refunds.  

In the lobby, there were long lines and the theater ushers half-heartedly offered different options on how we could get compensated — refund, passes, etc.  Their attitude was so blasé — like it was an everyday occurrence to them! But to us, it was not only a waste of time, it also ruined the experience of the film — even if watched again at a later time. The person at the front of the line mechanically said a simple “sorry” and hastily gave us our compensatory tickets.

Even if this particular experience hadn’t happened, I still wouldn’t recommend this venue for enjoying a movie, especially a popular film when the theater is likely to be full. I don’t know why they bother to put seats that close to the screen — if you don’t arrive early, you’re going to end up in those seats in an impossible position! They also let in latecomers who vainly scrounge around for seats and thus block your view of the opening scenes.

Furthermore, the automated machines outside don’t always work — either for purchasing or picking up tickets.  

It’s a shame that this is the only IMAX venue in our immediate area. I’d rather not watch at all, if this place is the only option. WORST MOVIE EXPERIENCE EVER!!!

http://tinyurl.com/AMCsux – August 5, 2008

AMC Universal City 19 With IMAX, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608