Skippable introduction of myselfHello everyone, I recently became a major cinema enthusiast after watching Spider-Man: No Way Home on the big screen (no pun intended in regards to GSC/MBO's BigScreen) since it's launch back in December 2021. Prior to the quarantines and lockdowns, I had lost a lot of interest in movie-going as imo, many of the blockbuster films felt stagnant and lacking in innovation, and no amount of technical prowess of specialized cinema halls (IMAX, MAXX, DA etc.) could convinced me otherwise. However, once the lockdown had lightened and I unenthusiastically decided to go watch No Way Home at the cinema (IOI City's GSC MAXX DA), I was so surprised at my enjoyment and excitement of cinema watching again. I realized how much I have missed and honestly, under-appreciated the atmosphere and experience of a cinema, especially after almost 2 years of home isolation of just watching tv shows and films in front of my 1440p computer screen.
I mean, to be frank, watching a film like No Way Home as a cinema return is pretty bias and honestly, a once in a lifetime experience considering the film's hype, build-up and phenomenal payoff, especially for big Spidey fans. With that said, it did lead me down a rabbit hole of watching other films in other specialized cinema halls, and did lead me to this forum to see other people's input on Malaysia's cinema experience.
I have watched No Way Home a total of 6 times (call me crazy, lol) and other films in multiple specialized cinema halls for the past few months and I would like to chime in on this discussion. Do note I will factor in ticket pricing, location distance and ease of transportation into my assessment as well.
Cinemas visited and movies watched thereIOI City Mall GSC Maxx Atmos) - 3x No Way Home
Mid Valley GSC Onyx - No Way Home
Sunway Velocity TGV IMAX - No Time to Die, No Way Home, Dune
Starling Mall GSC Big Screen - Uncharted
Tropicana Gardens Mall GSC BigScreen and Onyx - No Way Home (BigScreen DA), The Batman (Onyx DA)
IOI City Mall GSC Maxx Atmos (Hall 10 and 11)This mall's cinema, and more importantly, cinema hall was my primary go-to for movie watching before the pandemic as it was the nearest, high quality cinema to my residence. The screen is huge and the audio quality being Dolby Atmos and all is pretty great (I'm not a big audiophile so I won't really go in-depth into this). For my cinema return, this hall was a fantastic experience for No Way Home as many people were there and surprisingly, respectful with their reactions in regards to the film's scenes. The crowd cheers and ovations given at certain moments really heightened my enjoyment and of course, along side my return to the cinema hall experience really inspired my resurgence of cinema movie watching.
That being said, after watching No Way Home and other films in other cinema halls, reminiscing back to this Maxx hall, the colours do feel a bit washed and overall is not as clear in clarity in my opinion. I mean, it is fine and honestly it will need you to really focus to realize that it's not very clear, but it generally isn't something to be bothered by if you are a casual or someone who isn't as keen eyed in screen quality. The hall's audio quality is loud, bassy and is mostly clear. You can also feel vibrations in your seat during action sequences, adding more intensity in your movie watching experience. Overall, it is still a great cinema hall to visit, especially if you live close to it (it is a 15-30 minute drive for me with no tolls depending on traffic).
However for me, I will only visit this cinema and primarily, this hall if there is a movie I am not too sure and am unexcited about as I found better cinema halls than this one that I don't mind taking the time to travel to. Small complaint, the tickets here are freaking expensive! I mean, it's movie by movie basis, mall location and I think GSC factors in the timing close to the movie's launch date as well, but RM26.50 per person for The Batman in this Maxx hall? Hell nah! I know price for people is subjective, but for me, ideal times to visit here is before 1pm or on Wednesdays where tickets are discounted by 30-40% (RM 16 per person for The Batman).
Mid Valley GSC OnyxMid Valley's Onyx hall is more of a showcase of what Onyx is capable of visually compared to an overall experience. Visually, Onyx is the best looking screen I have witnessed in any cinema screen as that is a given considering the science behind LED screens vs projectors. Dark level performance is spectacular as the night time scenes were very clear without it being too dark to distinguish. Compared to my experience of No Way Home in Maxx, I can easily watch and distinguish the night time scenes during the forest section. Colour vibrancy and accuracy is top notch as well, especially during the scene where Peter stands facing the NYC Time Square building tv screen where the screen's light reflect onto his face in a crisp, sharp manner.
I do not know if this is a fair criticism but if you have high astigmatism, Onyx can be a disadvantage for you. I myself have high astigmatism and in the film itself, I sometimes could see vertical light lines go downwards and it is a distraction when trying to focus on the film. This doesn't happen often and I believe only occurs during scenes with distinct light sources (white subtitles on screen do cause minor astigmatism problems for me). You can easily ignore and minimize this problem by not focusing too much on the astigmatism lines.
Here's a better visualization of what astigmatism looks like.
Aside from the screen quality, the movie going experience for me is an above average assessment as the audio experience is not as engaging as the halls equipped with Dolby Atmos or IMAX speakers. The screen is pretty small (partly due to it being first Onyx hall in Malaysia), and the seating arrangement as of social distancing mandates make this not ideal too. Overall, I would only recommend Onyx in Mid Valley if you haven't experience Onyx and would like to, and if the mall is more convenient for you to visit. Otherwise, the best Onyx experience personally is in Tropicana Gardens Mall.
Price is similar to my take of IOI City hall. Best prices are before 1pm or on Wednesdays. As of right now, it is RM27.50 for The Batman in Mid Valley's Onyx hall, compared to RM15 before 1pm and on Wednesdays.
Sunway Velocity TGV IMAXThis IMAX hall is the closest one to me as I can easily commute to the mall via MRT and without a doubt could be my go-to cinema for blockbuster films... if only the good seats location weren't money-predatory and ASS.
Before I start with the absurd seating arrangement and ticket pricing, I will first start with the screen quality and overall experience as this forum thread primarily focuses on that. This is an IMAX hall that you would expect of the IMAX brand. I have watched No Way Home, No Time to Die and Dune here and the experience has been top notch. You have this giant-ass screen (2nd biggest IMAX screen in Malaysia, slightly behind Central I-City's according to reports) and coupled with the audio quality set-up you have come to expect and love from the IMAX brand, what's not to like? (Oh, we will get to that.)
The only small downsides here is that the air conditioner blows loudly and you can easily hear it before the film starts and during quiet moments of the film. Also, because the screen is very big, the clarity isn't as clear as you would like it to be. I would assume this is due to the projector being outdated (dual 2k instead of 4k laser) as people in this forum have pointed out. I primarily noticed this slight blurriness during my Dune session, as landscape shots of the deserts shows hints of being stretched, thus slightly blurry. No Way Home and No Time to Die weren't as bad but compared to my other cinema hall experiences, it is slightly lacking. Do note, it is very difficult to spot the slight blurriness of the screen and from my point of view, is not as bad as the one in GSC Maxx halls (even then, it is still pretty minute), but it is there. This isn't a major breaking point because the audio experience is outstanding, something that is signature to the IMAX brand.
That being said... the seating arrangements and price...
I mean, look at this shit!
I already find it unreasonable to pay RM30 for a cinema movie as there isn't even an early bird (before 12-1pm) discount (it's RM25 if you pay with Maybank Visa/Mastercard, but I don't use Maybank). However, I can sometimes turn a blind eye to the flies that would scatter out from my wallet when paying for IMAX due to experience the brand entails, primarily with its audio quality for me. Even then, If your best seats location are RM35 but twice the amount because they are twin seats when other cinema halls don't do this? Hell no dude, hell no. I watched both No Way Home and No Time to Die in the F row seats and the screen encompasses majority of your vision. Usually that would be great but because this screen is very big and thus the film will be expanded to accommodate the size, you will miss out on details displayed on screen as you have to consistently move your eyes around to keep focus on who is speaking or what key things are happening. That and the fact you have to lean your head even more to the back to properly keep encompass the whole screen in your peripheral vision, making it a slightly uncomfortable experience.
For Dune, I decided to pick the side seat row G, the seat closest to the middle. It was not a great experience as you will be able to see seat row light indicators on the stairs, and watching the screen from a side angle will always be a disadvantage compared to being in the middle. Thankfully the cinema was very empty (only myself and one man), so I just switched to the twin seats and man, what an experience it was (when I was leaving. I saw a guard at the top of the hall when the movie ended and I was scared for my life as she gave me a menacing glance. Thought I would be fined for switching seats, especially to an indulge/twin seat but there isn't rule for seat changing if the seat isn't occupied/booked, I presume).
Overall, one of the best cinema experiences if you have a movie partner and money to spend for the twin seats. Even more so if you have a Maybank card (only on Fridays and Weekends), making the twin seats cost RM50 instead of RM70 (for some reason, the twin seat paid via Maybank is RM 25 each compared to the RM35 without Maybank).
Starling Mall GSC BigScreenAs OP has mentioned and frankly was the only reason I took the time to visit this mall's cinema in the first place, this cinema hall is really, really good. The 4k laser Barco projectors really lives up to it's technical specs and it's only slightly behind Onyx in terms of clarity and sharpness (that is really high praise). The cinema is equipped with Dolby Atmos speakers as well so you can expect some good quality audio experience here.
However, despite what people here have said about the screen size, I don't think it is as big as the people here has claimed. Don't get me wrong, it is big and clear, but I noticed it was smaller than other biggies I have seen. I think it is slightly bigger than IOI City's Maxx, but smaller than Velocity's IMAX and Tropicana's BigScreen. Maybe it is due to my seat row choices; I tend to book 1 row behind the middle rows (Starling BigScreen has 14 seat rows, I chose row 6) and yeah, The screen ideally filled my peripheral vision, but wasn't as big as I thought.
Anyway, this is a great spot to visit and watch films at. Ticket prices is ok at RM21.50, but is RM14 (a damn steal!) before 1pm or on Wednesdays. However, for me, I won't be going here often, if at all because commuting here is dreadful. If you take MRT, you will have to stop at the TTDI station and then either walk there (takes 20 minutes and have to cross a pedestrian bridge above a busy road which is scary af) or wait for the Starling Mall commute bus which has a 1 hour 30 minutes wait interval. Otherwise, a great option for movie-goers
Tropicana Gardens Mall GSC BigScreen and OnyxThis will be my go-to cinema in the future for blockbuster films. It is simple (but time consuming) for me to commute there as the mall is connected to the MRT Surian station, and it houses two of the best specialized cinema halls I have visited. I will try to be brief in this section as I had covered both BigScreen and Onyx in my previous paragraphs and they definitely still hold true here.
I watched No Way Home here in the BigScreen hall and the screen was as good as Starling's BigScreen, but imo bigger. It is also equipped with Dolby Atmos speakers just like Starling's so not losing in the audio department as well. Not much to say that hasn't been said, a steal for the price (RM21.50 or RM14 as early bird or on Wednesdays) and my go-to for an IMAX alternative (possibly better if you include the 4k laser projector and price benefits).
Onyx here on the other hand is simply amazing, especially since it's equipped with Dolby Atmos speakers. I am planning to re-watch The Batman on IMAX and maybe BigScreen to see the difference between LED screen vs projectors, specifically for this film (and because the film itself was pretty darn awesome). However overall, Onyx for this film was spectacular as the movie takes place mostly at night and the dark level performance really shines (ironic since its dark lol) here. The lights at night looked so sharp and vibrant; the gun fights in the dark with snappy lights became a bit blinding to look at and I instinctively moved my hands to cover my eyes for a bit (this can be a con depending on who you are. For me, it's a pro since I believe in a real gunfight in the dark, it would look and feel realistic).
Again, the downside of Onyx is that the screen is small. Sure, it is bigger than the Onyx screen in Mid Valley, but still, the size is comparable to the ones in normal halls. My seats recommendation is 1-2 rows ahead of the middle row so you can fully immerse your peripheral vision with the screen. The price is slightly high at RM23.50 (still cheaper and better than Mid Valley's), but it is definitely worth it at RM16 for early birds or on Wednesdays. My complaint in regards to astigmatism holds true here, but again, this is subjective and can easily be ignored.
In my opinion, this is the best cinema you can visit today for the best bang for your buck.
Ending notesApologies for the long post, but I hope it is informative and helpful to you guys. I plan to watch The Batman again in 1Utama's TGV IMAX as I never been to that cinema before, so you may see me to write a post here about that in the future. Thanks for reading!
Nice review man! Due to recommendation on this thread here also I have started watching IMAX in Icity. Previously I watched them in Sunway.
I have always been an audiophile guy, so IMAX take the cake for me. I have seen Onyx in Mid Valley and tried the MAXX IOI Mall but to me I rather watch it in normal cinema due to the price. Its just not worth it.
Excited for the IOI TGV IMAX too. More nearer to my house.
Apr 25 2022, 12:39 PM
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