Regal Majestic — Attraction in Silver Spring

Why Americans Need Superman and Spider-Man on the Big Screen

Let’s get one thing clear: Americans don’t go to the movies to be lectured. They go to be dazzled, moved, jolted awake. And if you want to know why we still need to see Superman and Spider-Man—yes, again—on the silver screen rather than squeezed onto a streaming app or flattened into a flight-safe file, it’s because these heroes were made not just for us, but for cinema. Not content. Not algorithms. Cinema.

Superman and Spider-Man are not merely characters; they’re myths in motion. And myths deserve altitude. Superman soaring across a Metropolis skyline needs a canvas that overwhelms you. You need to feel the rumble in your seat when he breaks the sound barrier or stops a plummeting jet with his bare hands. You need to see the precise flicker of doubt on Peter Parker’s face—not reduced to thumbnail size next to your group chat. These stories are not about smallness. They're about the tensions between greatness and responsibility, idealism and fallibility, and, yes, about flying through the American subconscious in red and blue tights.

Some critics sneer and call them overblown morality plays for teenagers, but that’s precisely the point. Adolescents—and the adolescent spirit in all of us—need grandeur. They need stakes. They need to believe that someone can still save the day without a punchline or a post-credit wink. The multiplex, with all its flaws, is still the only cathedral that lets us sit shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers and believe, even for two hours, in justice with a cape or sarcasm with a web-shooter.

There’s something deeply democratic about it. Superman is an immigrant who believes in truth and fairness. Spider-Man is a broke kid from Queens who never asked for power but accepts the burden anyway. They're earnest, often painfully so—and in a country addicted to irony, earnestness has become its own kind of rebellion.

Watch them at the movies because that’s where they breathe. At home, you’re pausing to check your phone or reheat your leftovers. In the theater, you're trapped—in the best way. You submit to awe. You lean into heartbreak. You laugh when the crowd laughs. It’s a ritual, not a reflex. And in an age where attention has become currency, that’s an act of resistance.

So yes, watch them again. Watch them because the country feels fractured and forgetful, and sometimes, when the lights go down and the music swells, we remember who we wanted to be. Even if it’s just for the length of a blockbuster. Even if it takes a man in tights...

I've been here twice in recent years and several times before that. This theater has gone downhill in that time and today it is poorly maintained.

Both of the recent times I've gone I've managed to sit in a broken seat. The first time it was in my assigned seat for an IMAX movie, even though I paid as much as I did. I was so disappointed with my experience I even emailed the contact person listed in the theater for IMAX movies. The second time I didn't realize that the seat was broken until about halfway through the movie. My rear end still hurts! I wouldn't have gone a second time, but I could only get tickets for this theater (Wrath of Khan!) with my schedule, so I didn't have a choice.

I've not been able to enjoy any popcorn here because each time I received horribly stale popcorn. Tonight it was even a bit burnt and tasted a bit like cardboard.

As soon as we walked into our theater this evening the smell of urine hit us. I almost walked back out, but today was the last day to see the movie and my wife and I were looking forward to our date, so we stayed. Eventually I was able to ignore the smell, but still, that was gross. Of course we had to be in theater 13.

As if all that wasn't bad enough, I almost didn't get to see the movie tonight. When we arrived at the theater, the screen was off and the lights were dim. I thought it was odd, but I figured that the theater was reconstructing the feel of a movie from the 80s. (I couldn't know for sure because I wasn't born when our movie was released.)

At a few minutes after 7pm (when the movie was scheduled to begin), the curtains opened and we heard the pre-recorded message that normally precedes the theater ads tell us that our movie would begin in 30 minutes (7:30, even though it was scheduled for 7). I again thought that this weird, but figured that it was an error. The screen didn't turn on and soon we started hearing what sounded like voices.

After 15 minutes of this I went to find someone. No one at the concession stand responded to me when I first called out since I wasn't in line, even though the people I called to were not really doing anything, but I eventually got the attention of the person taking tickets. He radioed for someone who started our movie about twenty minutes later than it should have been.

If you've read this far, I imagine you've figured my point. Stay far away from this place. My experiences have been terrible and I will not be going back. Save your money, or at least find a good theater.

Oh well, at least the movie was good....

I went to see Alien Covenant at the Regal Majestic 20 in Silver Spring, and bought a ticket. I informed the staff that I needed captions and he wanted to see my ID. I told him that I don't have to do that at AMC theatres, and he of course told me that it is a different company.

Let me ask you: Is it acceptable for all of your other customers who don't need assistive technology to not have to relinquish their personal information, such as street address, DOB, etc, but those who need assistance to see a movie to do that?

Anyways, so I got into the theatre, and keep in mind that I am deaf, I use an implant. I can hear pretty well but I will miss things every now and then. (Do you have any deaf employees in corporate? It would be great to hear if you did, as this is a USER EXPERIENCE that many deal with.) The previews were booming, and I mean booming. MY implant produced garbled sounds at one point. It's hard for a deaf person to get a headache, let me tell you. Anyways the movie started at 11:30. 25 minutes of previews, that's a little excessive.

The Caption Glasses (BY THE WAY, has ANYONE WHO WORKS IN CORPORATE ever worn these? With glasses? It's extremely ugly, and uncomfortable. There are boxes (Doremi) that you can just place in your cup holder that are more fashionable, and more reliable. Leading to my next point. The glasses only subtitled every other line, if even. I had to leave the movie within 10 minutes as it was clear I'm going to miss some information. Please, please. Can the CEO just take a minute and watch a movie with massive earplugs, so they can't hear, or really anyone who makes any decisions at your company... and try going through the experience of wearing those ugly glasses, and trying to understand a movie just like a deaf person.

I would love to get a response back. I'm not trying to be difficult, but think about the amount of deaf people who go through this every single time they come to your theatres. Please.

At the very least, we don't want to steal your devices, we just want to see a movie. Also-- we shouldn't have to give our information to an employee who could hold a grudge and remember our address. Even a drunk customer at a bar has more privacy than us.

Oh, and consecutive years of no customer service is replied to within a week by GOOGLE REVIEWS?...