AMC Oakbrook Center 12 — Attraction in Oak Brook

This is specifically to review the IMAX (theatre 7) experience, which is honestly pretty subpar. First and foremost, it's the so-called "lieMAX" in that it uses the old (and rather unimpressive) 2K digital xenon projection, rather than the updated 4K laser system. As such, going to see the 4K re-master of Princess Mononoke was a bit underwhelming, as it was both a bit soft and I could often see the individual pixels (2K enlarged on a screen that big is just not enough resolution). I naively assumed that, if they were allowed to play a "4K remaster" of a Studio Ghibli film, they would be required to have equipment to actually project in 4K -- clearly not (though that's as much on IMAX as a brand as it is this particular AMC for not disclosing their 2K limit). The only saving grace is that an animated film from 1998 never assumed good contrast, so the xenon projection's lackluster ratio was never apparent.

In addition, the theatre 7 screen has multiple spots where the reflective coating is blemished/damaged (right of center if you want to look for it), and it's very noticeable anytime there's a relatively bright scene. For me, it ruins the immersion. Add to that the worn out seats (cracking leatherette, squeaky tilt/recline hinges) and the ludicrous concession prices ($10 for a medium popcorn...) and it's hard to justify the $17.50 ticket (plus $5 convenience fee, yikes!), imo.

So, AMC, please use some of your revenue to actually update/improve the IMAX experience. Namely: update to 4K CoLA projection, update to (at least) 12-channel sound, and replace the decade-old+ seats. Then I'll happily come back and pay the exorbitant ticket and...

I actually had a good movie experience, everything was great up until the point we were leaving. We had bought 3 adult tickets which were decently priced and we bought one large popcorn and two large drinks, which is extremely expensive, almost as much as the movie tickets. Pretty ridiculous prices, but we wanted the popcorn and drinks so we paid it. Upon leaving the theatre my brother and I decided to refill our drinks which are about $6-$7 and we put Icee in our cups. In the past I’ve ordered “one soda and one icee” and have been handed two of the same cups, so I this day I just asked for two large drinks not thinking that there was a difference. An employee approached us and told us they were “soda cups, not icee cups” and asked us to pour it out. I told him I didn’t understand there was a difference in the cups and he said there have been changes and a more strict policy and using the correct cups. My brother and I threw out our cups full of Icee and the employee offered to give us Icee cups, to which I said no, not because I no longer wanted any but because it’s just wasteful and stupid that I was asked to throw out two cups full of icee, a cup I paid $6 or $7 for each (not my money’s worth for one fill up, or even two, but I didn’t get to fill it twice) only to be offered to create more waste by putting it in a different kind of cup. In hindsight I wish he would have just let us drink the icee we had already poured and asked us to specify next time which type of drink we would like rather than shaming us into throwing away our cups that we paid heftily for and ruining my entire...

I never leave a lot of reviews but I was at this theater last night and it was the worst theater I've ever been to. The parking garage is a disaster. Several of the escalators didn't work. The concession stand was a joke. Whoever in the world thought it out needs to be fired. There was no signage telling the customer how to proceed through the line or that the popcorn was waiting for pickup at a pickup kiosk. Also... only one of the two soda machines worked and all the lids were missing from the drink counter area. The movie theater itself was terribly uncomfortable. The seats were hot and the Air Conditioner didn't seem to be turning on. I was sweating so bad that I was sticking to the seat. Speaking of the seats... They were so small my 6'4" body couldn't fit in between the seat and the wall in front of the seat. My feet were propped up on the wall in front of me. Matter of fact... If you had to get up to use the restroom... Every single person in the row would have to un-recline their seats to let you by because the rows were so small and cramped. After the movie was over... I tried to use the restroom and there was only one functional sink in the men's bathroom. So there was literally a line of 20 guys trying to wash their hands. This was the worst movie theater I've ever been to. I would give it zero stars if I could. It was a complete disappointment. I will not forget how miserable this experience was and I will not go back to this theater again. Shame on you AMC. You might as well just close this location down...