AMC Assembly Row 12 — Attraction in Somerville

The only thing this theatre has going for it, is comfy seating (rock chairs not recliners), a separate handicap/family bathroom, and kind (especially the ticket takers) staff who seem to suffer due to understaffing and lack of procedures. The commons is so much better but sadly hasn’t updated their seats since they opened. The theatre is rarely ever truly clean, I sat and watched a worker come in during the trailers of a showing when there was food all over the ground and on the seats and simply spray stuff into the air as we all sat there. If it is that difficult to clean the theaters between showings they really need to look into hiring more employees. I’ve seen them rush in and out of theaters but there aren’t enough of them/they are not given enough time. I’ve had to clean chocolate off of my seat in the Dolby theatre using wet wipes, I ended up moving my seat in one showing as a mouse kept running near my feet, thankfully in the years I’ve attended this theatre that has only ever happened once so I would not view it as a major problem. However I have had to speak to the employees more than once now about teens entering rated R movies and yelling, harassing, and threatening to assault patrons, or on todays occurrence actually throwing things at other people in the theater. Both the time before and this time they have simply come in and asked the teens to leave and done nothing to make sure they didn’t come back, see if anyone else in the theatre was ok or offer an apology. They simply came in, asked them to go. To which they left for five minutes and then half came back in and proceeded to throw things at me while calling me homophobic slurs. When I left the theatre they were still hanging around in the hallway all of 10 feet from the help desk so obviously no one in charge cared. I should not have to feel unsafe in a movie theatre simply due to either their management not instructing workers on what to do or AMC corporate not having any procedures in place to help. There are better theaters in the area that are cleaner, have better security, and that allow you to order food ahead and pick it up and not have to pay an extra five bucks being forced to have it delivered to your seat. Unless you are already in the area I wouldn’t highly recommend seeking this place out but on it’s good days it’s a pretty...

I have frequented this theater consistently for years (since AMC initiated the A List Stubs 3 movies/week membership). It is convenient, as I live nearby.

Generally, releases are only the biggest nationwide ones - with tremendous seat counts devoted to them. That’s okay, but you’ll want to consider the overcrowded location at The Common for more artistic or international films.

The theater appears much older than it is. Even accounting for covid, there are ripped seats, broken loungers, stained carpets, and completely underserved restrooms (at one point, a particular urinal was offline for 15 months). Food is often terribly overcooked- and that’s if you can find someone to take your order.

A few theaters are pretty good and comfy, but most are marred by poor cleaning and heavy wear. Some of the audio equipment is clearly damaged, and obviously no longer set “to spec” as it should be (and is at more well maintained theaters).

This past weekend, all of the magic mix soda machines were offline, as were all the butter dispensers for popcorn. For folks with families buying tickets at the theater, that was not posted until after someone would have completed their transaction.

Really, if it weren’t one mile from my house, I’d never visit. They need SERIOUS renovations, better attention to detail, and staff retraining (some of those folks I have seen there for years, so it’s not necessarily a staffing issue).

Ugh, really: it’s a mess.

Update: I have begrudgingly visited the theater a few more times since my review. The first occasion is documented in the attached image, as I had my car and was trying to get somewhere afterward. The theater scheduled five films to end at essentially the same time, so a mess in the Assembly garage near AMC/Lego was the result.

Another visit was for the recent rerelease of SW: Rogue One. The IMAX projector was horribly out of focus. It was so bad that nearly every backdrop that showed stars was smeared and smudged. Contrast sucked and - for that film - the subs were either offline or again (surprise surprise) miscalibrated. (Note: Rogue One was released in Dolby Atmos, so this should have been a banner...

Update - Over 72 hours later I got my bag back. Now, I find that very weird, but whatever. I am glad the team was able to get my stuff back somehow.

However, I suggest AMC still puts a protocol for robbed property.

BEWARE. THERE ARE THIEVES.

Last night during a showing someone crept next to me and stole my bag!

I asked the ticket usher who didn't care and told me to check customer service. Customer service only gave me an email that was illegible and didn't tell me so much as a sorry. He was nice but inconsiderate that someone STOLE MY BAG.

I reached out to the theaters so that they could at least check their hall cameras so that they can ban this person who didn't even likely pay their ticket.

48 Hours later: Yeah, AMC doesn't seem to care; they suggested to alert the cops for their own camera. They lost a customer.

Here's the email I sent:

It has been over 24 hours since my last message, and I have yet to receive a response from Somerville management. I am truly disappointed by the lack of security and customer attention regarding my lost bag, which is likely long gone now. While I understand that it is not your personal responsibility, I view this as a loss that occurred at your establishment.

I believe the theater should show more empathy in situations like this. Unfortunately, no one in Somerville offered an apology, and I urge you to review the security footage for your own benefit. At this point, involving the police seems futile, but I want to express that I feel like a lost customer; and likely many others will feel the same if thefts continue unchecked.

This situation goes beyond just the bag; it highlights a concerning lack of customer service at the Somerville theater and suggests that thieves may be prioritized over loyal patrons.

I hope you will address these issues with your higher-ups if they genuinely care about the experience of moviegoers.

Thank you for your attention to...