It has been a long while since I watched a movie in a theatre. However, my cohort wanted to catch the new Jurassic Park instalment, so we made plans to do so at the Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver.
When booking online, I didn’t realize there were so many options available to customize your movie going experience. Seeing as my visits have been few and far in between we decided to go all out on all the options. 3D with glasses and 4DX, and snacks. 4DX is the latest technology, described as is a multi-sensory cinema experience that immerses you through motion, vibration, water, wind, lightning, and other special effects to enhance the movie visuals. Here, I thought this was something new, where in actuality it has been around for a while, and it was just I that was behind on the times.
Having tried it for the very first time now, I can confidently say that it is well worth the money and the only way I want to watch movie theatre movies going forward.
For our movie theatre snacks we ordered the mini box meal for $10.99. It includes a small popcorn, which we never finished, and most people don’t as well. Despite this, we still added on additional butter at an additional cost, and found that worth it. This combo also comes with a small bag of candy and a free small pop with unlimited refills, but once again I was unable to finish both.
The mini box is also advertised as having a drink topper that matches the theme of the newest movie being promoted. Seeing as this was the “Jurassic Park combo” I figured I would get a little dinosaur to match. Instead, this was a generic animal with its own Cineplex branded theatre seats. Each available animal is Canadiana themed, I got a loon with a Twizzler in its mouth, and my companion got a moose. Each, a fun little souvenir, but not as advertised.
As for the movie itself, it offered a lot of action and suspense, with heart activating thrills. All of which was well timed to the seats that varied in its movement from the slow hum of a speed boat or car to the rumbling shakes of a giant T-Rex stomping.
I can only imagine that a different movie will have a different set of sensations. For example, the night before a friend watched Superman and said it was a lot of the flying, given that it is the main character’s preferred mode of transportation.
To be able to feel everything happen on the screen in your body, has you more invested. I found myself reaching out towards the screen, calling out to the actors, and pleading for the characters to succeed and cheering when they did. Thankfully the movie gave us the happy ending the whole of the theatre wanted. This has probably been the largest number of survivors in any Jurassic Park movie, not to give any spoilers.
The downside was how my body felt afterwards. I was waiting for all the jump scares and additional shaking that I found my body was tensed up for 2 hours and 30 minute duration of the movie. This was so much so that I actually developed a cramp on both obliques. This was an unorthodox ab workout that left me sore.
I also watched this with a friend who is just as invested in movies as I was. So being beside her, got me extra invested. I jumped when she did, and was as reactionary to the movie as her. Therefore I highly recommend going with a group, to be able to immerse yourselves all the more.
In summary, I didn’t think I needed to go watch a movie in a theatre ever again, with streaming and the ability to enjoy one in the comfort of my own home. However, this option changes everything. After our first experience with 3-D and the box we immediately made plans to watch another movie together in the future.
Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver
900 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 3G5
(604) 630-1407
cineplex.com
