IMAX Sydney — Local services in Sydney

Right from the entry the new IMAX Sydney was pathetic. Queues of people lining up at one of 4 self-serve ticket kiosks or the staffed cash register. With tickets bought online and sent to your phone, why on earth do I need to line up to them get the ticket printed on a piece of paper? So that another person can then look at it and tell me where my seat is. This is moronic. Not only that, but every single person trying to get the kiosk to scan their QR code failed and retried 5-6 times. Someone designed the kiosk bar code scanner so that you can't quite tell how to orient your phone to get it scanned. And the little animation on the screen that's supposed to show you how to use it doesn't look anything like the kiosk's scanners. So the whole process takes 6 times longer than it should (and isn't really necessary anyway). Next, there are all the stairs. This is a brand new building and supposedly a grand experience, but everyone is funneled like cattle into a narrow steep staircase with no hint of design or decoration. There's also a small escalator. The design is 0 stars. The IMAX screen is pathetically small and seems to be a square aspect ratio. Given that IMAX is supposed to be breathtakingly-huge and completely fill your field of view, they failed. It's almost like it's taller than it is wide, especially with the way they seem to have put the seats so close to the screen. The design is an absolute failure. The seats themselves are very comfortable, however are not tilted so you can face the screen with you neck horizontally. Yes that's right: you spend the entire length of the movie with your neck muscles engaged trying to push the back of your head into the seat's head rest trying to be able to look "up" at the screen (or the part of the screen where the actual picture is). I sat in row E which was approximately one third up from the bottom. This was painful. But I couldn't help glancing down to the bottom third every now and again and was in awe at how those seats weren't tilted up either, so they spent the entire time watching by having to roll their eyes up to see the screen. It really seems like the people that designed this haven't actually seen a movie in a theatre, and no-one double checked the design before proceeding. The whole thing just seems like an afterthought and a monumental stuff-up. The only seats which had a view of the screen without needing a chiropractor are the upper third rows. Summary: Do not go. But if you must, book seats in the upper...

Let’s start off by saying that I love movies! I’m a regular at the cinema & I spend my Thursday/Friday nights at the cinema watching the latest flicks… so the IMAX cinema in Sydney is something that I’ve been waiting to see for over 5 years so finally having it come to life was a dream come true. I decided to watch the Creator- one the best sci fi movies released this year. Seeing this movie a couple of weeks ago I knew that the visual experience of this movie deserved an IMAX viewing. I have to be honest my experience at the cinema fell a bit short. Even though I was blown away by the sound and some of the action/explosive visuals… it wasn’t the experience I was hoping for. One of the obvious reasons was that since this movie wasn’t filmed in Imax there is an obvious crop on screen which takes away the biggest advantage of the big screen. I was hoping that the movie would be calibrated to at-least use 80% of the screen…but that wasn’t the case. To clear that up if you are watching a regular movie at this cinema then only expect a view of about 65-70% of the screen. The seats were pretty comfortable but definitely not the best in class. Do note that this is a single screen cinema and not a multiplex. So getting a ticket on a premiere night will be a hassle. Also for being advertised as the biggest cinema in Sydney the reception was rather small and a bit understaffed so expect to stand in line if you need your daily dose of popcorn & drinks. I think it’s safe to say that this cinema is meant for movies that are only filmed in Imax as watching a regular movie might be a bit of an underwhelming experience. DO NOT BOOK SEATS IN THE FIRST 4 ROWS! I had a quick look at those seats and the experience will most certainly give you a cracking neck ache by the end of the film. Also the lack of parking in the city will require you to plan your movie trip far ahead. So if you are watching a regular movie I wouldn’t recommend spending those extra bucks at this cinema.This is an IMAX cinema after all so if you are watching a movie such as Oppenheimer that was filmed in Imax then this is the best way to...

How people are giving it 4-5 stars is beyond me. This place is very poorly designed. Only the last 3 rows should exist. This is by far the most overrated movie watching experience i have had.

My points in order of their appearance: the ticket barcode scanner doesn’t work and instructions are misleading the entry lounge is too small for a venue that can have300-400 people even the damn cold drink cap dispenser is placed wrong the stairs leading to the hall are narrow and signage confusing most seats dont recline. Dont ever get couples seat. Only last 3-4 rows are useful, rest will be a waste of your time and money.(see other reviews you will know what i am talking about) the projection screen has areas of discolouration. Hard to ignore when you go with an assumption that this is supposed to be world’s best imax! the exit signs are too bright and will affect screen throughout the movie the sound is good most of the time but for some reason i found a lot of words in important dialogues hard to hear. It seems the audio hasn’t been tuned for dialogues but background music. the glass railing comes in the way for a lot of back row seats the toilets are too small for a venue this size. My local restaurant with 30 seats has a bigger toilet! every space seems cramped, without proper signs and ill designed.

Do yourself a favor, do not go here! But if you must, choose the...