ScreenX

Finally got to try ScreenX. Was it worth it? Mid. It's a gimmick at best and a place you watch on for 2nd viewing. For context, I sat dead center at G11, just as I recommended in the cinema page. Check that out for pictures! https://takilya.ph/branches/sm-sm-mall-of-asia/cinemas/5f9613fd-6f3f-5795-9154-db403690b788 My expectations were already low. I didn't expect to be mind-blown, and I got exactly what I expected, and somehow less. The good: Good seats, like most of SM's rebranding over the past two years, and the audio's bass was quite good. I didn't like the center audio, but I think that's more because of the movie's mixing based on my three different viewings. The bass is really good, though. I'd say that of the 70% of the film that was in ScreenX format, around 5% of that was genuinely enjoyable. Everything else just felt like peripheral addition. The main screen quality is really good, though. I think it uses laser/4K projection, and it looks great when only the middle screen is being used. The bad: I didn't expect this, but during bright scenes, the center screen's colors become washed out. I figured this is because of the projectors clashing with each other's projections. It has four side ScreenX projectors, btw. I didn't get a headache or have any issues with the ScreenX side screens themselves. However, I was surprised by how much I missed the main-screen-only scenes. They felt a lot more focused, the colors looked much better, the image felt sharper, and the scenes themselves were easier to focus on. If ScreenX was truly the next best thing, I don't think I would've wanted the main screen back so much or felt a sense of relief whenever the side projections turned off. Additionally, there were scenes in Spider-Man itself that could have been reallyyyy cool if they were shown in ScreenX. There's one particular scene with Jean that was a real bummer. Otherwise, though, pretty much all the action scenes had the ScreenX format. Also, for the first 30 minutes or so, you'll probably get distracted while your brain calibrates to the side screens. There's also only a single row of seats in the waiting area. Like, only 5–7 people can fit there. This theater has 272 seats, so I'd expect a much better waiting area than what we got. At the time of my screening, the concession area was closed as well. We got Lay's + water, similar to what you get in IMAX, which is also a bummer. Overall, this cinema, just like 4DX, is a gimmick. The price is decent enough, the main screen is genuinely great quality, the audio is really good, and the seats are decent. This is a cinema I'd go to for a second viewing. You'll get a little distracted at the start of the film while your brain adjusts to the side projections, and personally, I'd rather experience the movie normally first.