Skippable introduction of myself

Hello 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 there

IOI 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 Onyx

Mid 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 IMAX

This 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 BigScreen

As 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 Onyx

This 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 notes

Apologies 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!

*Dune re-run price update TGV got back to me and has changed the price to RM20, curious if they will refund the surcharge to those who already paid RM35 for the tickets prior to the adjustment. Overall, great news and happy TGV did this.

Original post:
Huh, you're right, and it's not only Sunway Velocity, Central I-City TGV IMAX tickets for Dune's re-run is also RM35. Everywhere else at TGV IMAX is RM20. I've contacted their customer support for details, hopefully I will get a reply soon.
Hey man, while doing research for this post, I noticed some of your screen dimensions are false. The most identifiable one is Velocity's height being at 13.6m instead of the actual 19.41m. The sources I got from are from https://lfexaminer.com/theaters/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/malaysia/comments/...as_in_malaysia/. Still a nice try to identify IMAX actual movie image to screen utilization in Malaysia.

Dune re-run and Dune 2 IMAX hall recommendations

This is an update to my post here: https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...ost&p=108215249. Some info are outdated as that post was made before the TGV IMAX Laser upgrades. Main changes are that Velocity has removed their twin-seats in favour of singles at the good middle seating spots, and all TGV IMAX Laser hall seats are now Glide and have 12-channel audio. Aside from that, most of the points made in that post still hold true to this date. The main thing that is constant is that all halls can only display up to 1.9:1 aspect ratio, just like the previous Xenon projectors. I still recommend checking that post out if you're looking for hall photos and general stuff outside of technical specifications like recommended seats etc. (Pav BJ is in a future post at page 33, Post #648). Anyway, on with the post.

Dune's re-run and it's sequel in March will be the true IMAX films to properly test the 12-channel audio tech from the new IMAX locations for us to properly experience. While yes, we had other prior IMAX films that fully utilized the 12-channel audio set-up, however, to my knowledge, they are either comic book movies and/or films converted for IMAX, which originally was audio mixed for Dolby Atmos. In terms of image size, both films will only display at a 1.9:1 aspect ratio here in Malaysia since we currently do not have any IMAX Laser GT/dual laser and OG 70mm halls to properly view the films' intended full, tall image at 1.43:1.

Quick disclaimer, considering IMAX Laser, let alone with 12-channel audio is scarce and are only located in Klang Valley. The old Xenon IMAX halls are still be recommended for films like Dune as these films were made specifically to be displayed on a taller screen, ala, IMAX (and the fact that these films will be cropped at a wider 2.39:1 in other non-IMAX halls cause IMAX be monopolizing the tall screen business ooof). The only IMAX hall in Malaysia I do not recommend visiting is Sunway Pyramid's as that hall's screen is way too small for a good IMAX experience (detailed Pyramid IMAX review can be found in my previous KV IMAX hall review, link above). Other than that, any other IMAX hall should be fine for a good IMAX experience (for actual IMAX screen measurements in Malaysia, check here: https://www.reddit.com/r/malaysia/comments/...s_in_malaysia/)

Summary: the best IMAX halls will of course be IMAX Laser, ideally with 12-channel audio. The only IMAX halls that have this two criteria are TGV (rank 1) Sunway Velocity, (2) 1Utama, (2) Pavilion Bukit Jalil and the newly opened GSC (3* with caveat) Aurum TRX Exchange. (4) IOI-City Mall 2's IMAX hall is IMAX Laser, however does not contain 12-channel audio, only half of that. TGV offers the better value currently for Dune's IMAX re-run at RM20 vs GSC's RM33, though both Velocity and I-City are the only TGV halls to price their tickets at RM35. I have inquired TGV for an explanation, will update this post when I get an answer.

1. The best hall IMAX would be at TGV Sunway Velocity as it contains a big and tall 1.43:1 screen, only one in West Malaysia, and due to it's size, it has the most movie image to screen utilization of any other Malaysian IMAX halls. There will be minor letterboxing (black bars at the top and bottom) due to the fact that the hall can only project at 1.9:1 AR, thus not fully utilizing the entire screen's height, but considering how big and tall the screen is, you'll still be awed at movie image's scale. Top it off with it being upgraded to 12-channel audio and IMAX laser projection, this is currently the best IMAX hall in Malaysia for proper, made for IMAX films.

2. If Velocity is not an convenient option, 1 Utama and Pavillion Bukit Jalil IMAX are also great alternatives as they are both have 12-channel audio and laser projection. 1U's hall has the larger screen, while Pav BJ has a smaller, modest screen (similar to IOI City Mall 2's). However, Pav BJ is a newer, sleeker hall with little design distractions when movie viewing, and in my opinion, has better seating arrangements (legroom primarily) than 1U. Personally, I would still choose 1U over Pav BJ because I prefer a larger screen, but you can't go wrong with either one.

3*. There is also the brand new GSC Aurum TRX IMAX Laser hall with 12-channel audio, however do note that the ticket prices for this hall is very expensive as the cinema chain itself is designed for the luxurious and rich. Currently, the IMAX ticket prices are RM65 per person, and would go up to RM80 post launch promotion. Most of the seats are twin-seats (so the actual ticket price would be RM130/160), with only one row of single seats close to the front of the screen. There's no proper announcement of the screen's actual measurements, but from the looks of it from the promo images, it looks to be similarly sized as IOI City Mall 2's 1.9:1 IMAX. The main attraction for this hall is the more comfortable seats and an abundance of "luxury" meals served to you, and ideally, with your partner at your disposal, as justified from the higher ticket price. This offering is very similar to TGV's Indulge, but unlike Indulge, the hall IMAX.

In my opinion, unless you are looking for a romantic, high class date with your significant other, I do not recommend this hall for the general movie-goers as the halls mentioned prior to this one offers better value at a way better price, especially in Velocity's case as it has the better technical specs ala larger screen. However, if anyone here is willing to bite the bullet and visit here, do take some photos of the hall, especially the screen and post them here, please? You'll be doing a big favour for everyone in this community .

4. Finally, the last IMAX Laser hall in Malaysia, which ironically, is the first IMAX Laser hall to be introduced in Malaysia. IOI City Mall 2's IMAX, at least technology wise, was the best IMAX hall of 2023 as it had the best viewing display of all IMAX, even against Big laser halls. That lasted up until TGV's announcement of IMAX Pav BJ later that year and three future IMAX Laser upgrades at existing halls. IOI lacks the extra 6 speakers for the 12-channel audio set-up like the other halls, so you won't get to fully experience Dune's audio. That aside, it is still a great hall as it has better legroom and in my opinion, more comfortable seats than TGV IMAX's Glide. It's screen is modest and is quite similar to Pav BJ's. The current major downside to this hall is the price at RM33 vs RM20 for Dune's re-run. This honestly makes no sense value wise since it's not even 12-channel audio, unlike TGV's and with that, I only recommend this spot if the TGV IMAX Laser options are inconvenient for you to visit.

Lastly, the rest of the IMAX halls left are the old Xenon projector ones with 6-channel audio. While these Xenon halls have poorer image quality versus IMAX Laser, though really, to many movie-goers, it will still look good and most of the enjoyment will be bolstered from the screen and image's size and scale, rather than image quality. As mentioned from prior paragraphs, any IMAX halls convenient and near you will be good enough (except Pyramid's), however, these two Xenon halls of Central I-City and Vivacity Megamall in my opinion, stands above the other Xenon halls and honestly, even competes with some IMAX Laser halls due to their sheer screen size.

Central I-City wise, without the context and actual number proof of Aurum's TRX IMAX screen size, in terms of a 1.9:1 IMAX screen, I-City is the largest one in Malaysia. I freaking love this hall and I wish it would get a deserved Laser and 12-channel audio upgrade down the road as along with its screen size, the hall is very visually sleek, luxury looking with very good seat legroom. The only downside, at least for me is that it's way too far from my residence as the mall is located in Shah Alam. It took me roughly 2 hours to get there, and another 2 hours back whilst having to deal with traffic and tolls, thus it's not an IMAX hall I will willingly return to, however, it is still one of the best IMAX experiences purely because of the screen size.

Vivacity Megamall I personally haven't visited, but according to the specs found online, it surprisingly has a 1.43:1 screen. It's slightly smaller than Velocity's, but this technically means Vivacity has the 2nd largest IMAX screen in Malaysia... Huh... Sorry I-City. Most of the praise Velocity received should apply to Vivacity too, though it is still a Xenon, 6-channel audio only hall. Nevertheless, at least, according to the screen dimension, this hall should be a blast for 1.9:1 IMAX films (to any East Malaysian IMAX fans here, please do reply and share photos of this hall and its screen, you'll be doing a great service to a nerd like me xd).

Closing notes

I'm quite excited to finally experience a full 12-channel audio IMAX film since that's what TGV has been marketing about with their entry to the IMAX Laser scene. That and my IMAX Dune experience during its original run was bonkers. I do hope the Velocity ticket price gets addressed soon, but otherwise, can't wait for this film and its sequel to come out.

For number 4 (Legend of Hei 2) GSC took off schedule too quick (in 1 weeks) then TGV remove that too soon afterwards, box office too bad?

Encore films fk ed up this time, they tho nezha2 they brought in earlier so hot that time can complacent about following C anime films releases huh?

Legend of Hei 2 premiere mid July in Domestic China mainland they can drag till mid September for here,  imagine putting in very very bad competition against up to 5 JP anime films in these period?

Next C anime film they gotta bring in about white snake/green snake legend I think will be fare even worse

watched Tron Ares at a normal Atmos hall. even that, i felt that I was paying too much hahaha

what a snoozefest. even NIN cannot save this.

always wanted to try Onyx.

do you think animation movies will fare well in this format?

Reviews of Tron Ares revealing it to be a bust. Ahhh I need my movie fix! This season really dry af ah for films.

No haha, I usually watch films for their story execution, cinematography, vibes, acting skills and creativity. Tron Ares is mostly visuals which I'm not interested in. Avatar 2 was a let down (watched it in IMAX 3D at Velocity before laser upgrase) but yeah, the visuals were amazing. However, visuals aren't really a good reason for me anymore to be invested in a media.

I might skip Avatar 3 as well if the reviews of the story aren't up to snuff... Idk, this series is maybe the only exception to not skip because James Cameron's films are revolutionary in terms of visual and CG. It's like a tech demo of an gorgeous, wild alien world built from the imagination and it's realized beautifully with tech. But ya, I want to be engage with the story of the film than "oooh, that water pweeety."

Dry IMAX season alert

F1 is back in IMAX (again)

HTTYD too

Zootopia 2 is the most fun I had this year at the movies.

Will watch again today

I first watched it in IMAX Laser. quite worth it for the experience,
but the best animated movies in IMAX for me are the Spiderverse series.

if you have extra buck to spend, why not?