ODEON Belfast — Local services in Belfast

As a regular cinema goer and film fan it actually pains me to give such a poor review. I advocate vocally for cinema but this Odeon is perhaps the worst possible example and showcases everything cinema should not be. Rather than a fun experience out, it was a trial.

Positioning wise the cinema is in Victoria Square so there is paid underground parking close by and a host of places to eat before or after a film so you can really make a trip out of going. The parking is expensive however and is another cost to factor in if visiting here as opposed to other out of City venues.

On first entering the cinema it seemed to be a high quality Odean with a spcious open plan foyer and ample casual seating but it quickly became apparent things were not as they seemed. There were two staff serving on the ticket counter and two checking tickets...all seemed more interested in chatting to each other than doing their jobs. Snacks and drinks are at a premium but on par with other local cinemas. Be aware Odeon has drinks and snack brand exlcusive contracts so they dispense Pepsi and Tango rather than other brands. Moreover there was an online booking fee of £1.90 added to price of tickets if we pre purchased online...in what world is pre-paying online now more expensive than buying in person? £9 for a standard ticket is a bit much when I regularly can get a standard ticket from between £7.50 and £8:60 at peak times in other venues. I asked the staff if there were any special seating or screens in this venue as the website was pretty opaque on the issue but she gave me blank eyes and a confused look so I assume there are no Luxe screanings or iMax available at this venue? Who knows? The staff sure didn't. Anyway, very disappointing that such a large City centre venue had no special seating or screening options, everything just standard.

We wanted icecream but were told we had to go to the other counter across the foyer to order it seperately. We walked over and there was no staff on. The woman who had just sold us snacks and tickets and directed us to this counter was too busy chatting to her colleague to walk over and serve us. After asking the redundent extra staff memebr who was standing at the ticket check counter to help us they reluctantly paused their gossiping with their colleague and came over and served us...we were sourly given ice cream at the usual inflated cost.

We checked our tickets and headed for the screen. I have no words. As soon as we walked in I knew this would be unpleasant. The screen room was like a fridge and it was in pitch blackness even though no trailers were yet showing since we were a bit early. I had to get out my phone torch to see where we were going so I didn't fall and break my neck.

Keeping the screen in darkness was probably a good idea however as my torch light revealed the worn seats and how there was evidence of popcorn etc not properly cleaned off the floors.

As we made our way to our seats we had to guess and investigate since the seat designation letters and numbers were worn off. Thank goodness I had a torch because when I got to my seat I saw that someone had spilled a drink on it. A hesitant poke showed it was still damp and my feet proceeded to stcik to the floor as I shuffled down past it to the next available seat.

The screen was nothing special. Absolutely standard.

We watched our film in the cold and tried to not move our feet on the sticky floor. The seats were worn and the tired interior meant this was a less than wonderful experience.

The cinema is large but has no special screens, tired, dirty seating and floors, unfriendly staff and to top it off the available film choice for such a large city venue was terribly limited. Blockbusters and a few family films as well as a retro screening available.

In short...avoid at all costs. Cheaper, cleaner, more comfortable venues with a better variety of films, seating options and friendly satff are available a short distance...

I cannot believe how ridiculous our experience at this cinema was tonight. My friends and I were SO excited to see this movie—we’d been planning it for weeks, even rearranging plans so we could all go together. We get to the cinema, buy snacks, stand in line, and are literally buzzing with excitement… only for the staff to treat us like criminals and flat-out refuse to let us in because they “thought we looked too young” and we didn’t have ID.

Let me be clear: we weren’t causing trouble. We weren’t loud, rude, or doing anything inappropriate. We just showed up to watch a movie like any normal group of friends. Instead of treating us with any respect or even asking us to prove our ages in a reasonable way, the staff basically implied we were lying and dismissed us like we were trying to sneak into an R-rated film for fun. We even offered to show things like our school IDs and social media accounts with our ages, but nope—completely uninterested.

Here’s the part that really got me: plenty of adults in the same line weren’t carded at all. Some of them definitely could’ve been underage too, but apparently we were the “suspicious” ones because of how we look. It felt inconsistent and unfair. If you’re going to enforce a rule, at least do it evenly instead of singling out a group of paying customers.

We wasted time, money on transport, and energy for absolutely nothing. To make it worse, the staff seemed almost smug about it, as if ruining someone’s night is just part of the job. A little bit of empathy or common sense would’ve gone a long way—maybe suggest we bring ID next time or let us swap for a different movie. But no, it was just “sorry, can’t help you, goodbye.”

Cinemas are supposed to make movies fun and accessible, not turn away genuine customers who just want to enjoy themselves. I get that rules exist, but the way this was handled was completely unprofessional and unnecessary. After tonight, I honestly don’t see myself or my friends ever coming back. There are plenty of other cinemas in the area that know how to treat people with basic respect.

If you’re a group of teens or young adults who even slightly look younger than your age, save yourself the humiliation and pick a different cinema—because apparently this one would rather lose business than treat its...

Ok so we got Deadpool wolverine a duo worthy of all the celebration and in 3d my friends was just amazing

Now the Xman means honour ..integrity character dignity the real stuff real leaders are made off as in my review of scent of a woman ..Charlie league here I come ☺️☺️

As a leader U make mistakes but even if U let your whole world down or just a person or a few ..if U look inside yourself U find all weapons to fight all the evilness of this world and others. And if U learn from them U can also discover what's important and find your place in the universe and where U belong unique feeling of belonging in my reviews dear friends.

Deadpool is an extraordinary leader with a gorgeus humour and I did laughed with tears at some of his antics ..wolverine is a reformed Xman ..he finds himself belonging in a universe not at his own and finds his purpose by becoming what he was ment to be and learning to be brilliant again

What else can we learn from this ..with brilliant actors U do a good movie no matter what ..always rely and give yourself truly to the people that know U best the rest don't matter ..and even superheroes needs special power find their heart is in the right place when U belong . Saving the universe or yourself might be the next question in place

As always staff at odeon for me are the gatekeepers of magic ..of the realm of infinite possibilities when only fairytale belongs and real heroes don't always wear capes . But their heart and soul shines better than any star 😁😁

Ok I leave u now dear friends going sleep as working tom ..rem always be true to yourself and always find yourself where U belong to ..and stay there ..be it a place a person ..a universe a book ..belonging is unique ..U find it friend ..so long . Till next one...