Marcus West End Cinema — Local services in Saint Louis Park

You know what? You know WHAT? I'm giving this theater its props. It in no way deserves the low ratings of late. Understand that I see movies at least twice a week, and have done so for 13 years. I've been around, man. In no particular order:

The concessions are far superior to anything at AMC, and are meaningfully better than the science experiments Emagine sells. (No offense Emagine, love you). They also don't deliver them to your seat, at least for the matinee I attended. They give you a little pager that vibrates and then you go get it from the counter. And you know what? Good. Good. In the last several movies I've been to, there's always some slob who shows up 5 minutes late, and then they get their Toyota Tundra of processed chicken ass brought to them. I'm not saying the pagers are a perfect system, but I do appreciate some basic effort being expected of people. It's good for society. Also! The burger I got came in a cute little carrier with spots for fries and ketchup.

Second! They have Pepsi! Kiss my ass, Coca Cola Mafia.

Third! Their little theater promos don't have scary Nicole Kidman or embarrassing Emagine Ensemble. They have The Marcus Guy, who actually seems to enjoy movies and is like a doofy uncle at worst. He's charming.

Fourth! The seats are stadium rockers. No recline. I would like to recline. But then again, I'm in public for two hours. Do I need to be tucked in? Big whoop.

Fifth! Really great programming choices. They give indies a few extra showtimes compared to the inner metro theaters, so you have a decent shot at getting to see whatever you want. Not like certain theaters by certain rivers that constantly show festival darlings during regular work hours.

Sixth! Ample seating. I imagine they have a theater or two like it, but I have yet to see them cram an indie into a smaller theater with two rows and a teensy screen.

Seventh! Prices are better now than under previous ownership.

Eighth! Their loyalty program isn't great. It's not bad. It amounts to pre-purchasing movie tickets a year in advance. If you see a movie a month, you'll break even. If you're into concessions, which I'm generally not, you'll save a few shekels. I wish there was a points system.

Ninth! Tone! It feels like the family owned theaters I used to go to, when they exist. If the chairs or carpeting seem schlocky, yes, but it's a good thing. It's got a soul, man

Tenth! The actual viewing experience is up to par. No complaints there.

Eleventh! The online booking map is actually accurate. You don't need to guess at where true-middle is on the seating chart.

So there you have it. It's a good theater. Everyone who disagrees is a baby who should stay...

I was surprised to hear Kerasotes shut down entirely, but was excited to hear Marcus would take over – I'd heard good things for years, and I know folks love the Oakdale Marcus theater. Went to see Alien: Romulus a couple months after the changeover and thought they were working to upgrade and improve still and that the weird ghost town feel and filthy bathrooms were just growing pains.

Came back in November to see Wicked and saw that things just got worse: drink machines/ice barely work. Trash all over the place in the lobby and in the theaters themselves. Popcorn was stale and the butter was a mere suggestion of flavor on top of salt, salt, and more salt. The seating is awful, as if they ripped it out of a cheap seats theater and just threw it in there. The weird, uncomfortable seating and way I had to sit to not slam my knees into the back of the chairs ahead of me caused my knee to ache for a couple weeks afterward (granted we saw a 3-hour movie, but that's never happened to me before).

The bathrooms (women's) were shockingly worse – seemingly no cleaning the stalls or countertops, ONE soap dispenser out of like 8 that worked (sorta), and the hand "dryers" were like just someone breathing close to your hands and were also nonfunctional except maybe one unit. The sinks even wouldn't turn on, so a few of us had to line up and share one sink. The counters were just puddles of filthy water under the dryers, which seems like a hazard. Paper towels were all over the floor and overflowing out of the trash can. It looked like no one had checked on or cleaned the bathroom in weeks. Horrifying.

I never really used the bar or upstairs VIP, so I can't comment on that. Sounds like customers are so frustrated about that, and the food apparently leaves much to be desired. I usually just get soda and popcorn and that was even lacking. It's so sad, because this really was the closest theater in a good location with lots of great staff and great movies. I know Marcus has been great elsewhere and in the past, so I'm really confused why this particular theater is so disappointing. I hate to say it, but I don't think I'll ever go back unless I see big changes are made. I think the staff are probably good people with good intentions, but you have to listen to your (former) customers! PLEASE...

My favorite bad review is the person who showed up late for their movie, then complained about missing part of the movie 😭

For a theater that re-opened, I think they are doing pretty well, obviously excited for the bar to reopen and for more food items to become available, but I come for the movies, and I’m currently mad at emagine for resetting my rewards points. Love having a convenient app with Marcus and having a cool physical rewards card!

Edit: it’s now 1 year later after reopening, and I kinda feel like this theater needs to step up its game. First of all, the seats need an update, even the fancy seats in the old VIP section are falling apart (theater 1 has ripped up seats, I stopped going to Plymouth grand because they also have the same issue). Secondly, I was in row AA in theater two for fantastic four, and the bottom part of the screen gets cropped by the ledge. The subtitles went on for a scene and everyone in that row had to lean forward because of the obstructed view. Thirdly, some of the staff just aren’t very friendly, I work in the customer service industry as well and some of their attitudes feel a bit off putting. Finally, every time I’ve gone this year, there has always been an issue, and it’s gotten to a point where I can’t keep excusing the issues. I’m loyal to Marcus theaters, but this just doesn’t feel like a Marcus theater. I think I’m going to switch to Emagine willow creek for a while until I see better reviews for...