Omniplex

So delighted to have this place down the road. Even if the Lighthouse is my favourite cinema, I always like to have a good cinema handy for those days I am in the mood for a popcorn movie.
They renovated this place last year at some point and it is really comfortable now. The biggest screen is amazing and I would recommend it if you’re seeing an immersive kind of film. I was really surprised by how good it was. And the chairs are really comfy and even rock a little back and forth if you like that kind of thing to comfort yourself while watching a scary movie. They have all the popcorn stuff you need and you can book tickets online and all that practical stuff.
I like the selection of films they have going on. It’s still blockbusters but they do usually one or two cool films like at the moment The Lobster, Crimson Peak and The Program. I usually can find the main stream films I want to see.
Finally, Tuesday Nights are € 5 in for adults which is the best deal I have heard of in a while. It’s obviously catching on because it’s a very busy night, but that adds to the fun.

I had a good experience here, armchairs were comfortable, sounds and screen were good. A lot of toilets. Easy to collect your tickets in the ticket collection machine, just don’t forget to take the card you bought it with.

Went in to watch Jurassic World and was happy with the outcome. Best part of the room was the seat, they have these nice bucket seats that recline and are super comfortable.
The sound could be a little better, and the screen wasn’t awesome either. I’ve definitely seen much better in cheaper places, which is why this gets the 3 stars.

The Maxxx screen was huge. Nice comfortable rocking chair style seats as well with loads of height on the row below. Really nice cinema. Would definitely go again.
Price for 3D Maxxx show on a weeknight was € 12. I’m not reading great reviews for other screens but to be honest, having gone to the maxxx screen it’s unlikely I’ll go to another screen.

Where to start.
How about with, this is the worst cinema I have ever been too? Is that a good enough start?
It’s very rare I get angry about reviewing places but the Omniplex in the Swan centre has literally driven me to anger.
So this cinema is around the corner from my house, very handy. It used to be the Swan cinema which was a great cinema. It had a big screen or two, showed good films had character and was basically really good. It was a bit more expensive than say the Cineworld, which I didn’t mind as it kept the dregs of cinema going out. You know the talkers, over noisy eaters, the rude, the people turning up late sort of people. Then one day it closed and started being redeveloped. Great I thought maybe they will make it even better update the sound and projectors maybe make it top notch? How wrong can you be?
I’ve been here a few times now, mainly because we got some vouchers for Christmas. Every time I go I get more and more wound up by the place! What’s wrong with it?
The screens
Now there are more of them. But they are tiny, seriously with the advent of affordable 42 inch tv’s you go to watch a picture on a big screen! The rooms are thin oblong boxes designed to get as many screens packed in as possible. If you sit at the side, the speakers which hang on the wall basically block your view of the screen there is literally no space either side of the claustrophobic coffin cinema you are in.
Projection
Surely a new cinema will have state of the art projectors? Well they might be for all I know, but unfortunately to save on cost I would guess it looks to me like they are either saving on projector rooms or couldn’t fit the projectors in. The projectors are located in the far corners in at least two of the screens. This means that the parallax of the picture has to be adjusted to make it sort of seem normal. This means that the whole picture is on a slant!!! Seriously when the credits roll out its at about 3 – 4 degrees. It’s ridiculous, absolutely rubbish.
Sound
Surely a new cinema will have state of the art sound? Well they might have for all I know, but unfortunately to save on cost the sound proofing is terrible in some screens. You can hear normal cars going past outside! Seagulls squawking! Add to this in some screens the air con is so loud you literally are p*ssed off by it the entire film!
Seats
Surely a new cinema will have state of the art seats? Actually they are not bad I will give them this one. Although I did find on the back row in the corner I basically had to sit forward to see all of the screen because the room is so small and it projects almost to the ground. Oh and also if someone gets up because the ceiling is so low you get a shadow on the screen of the person walking past. Something I have not seen in a long time!
Clientele
Ok so now the cinema is cheaper basically it’s full of idiots. The last time I went two guys turned up late talking all the way up the stairs, then continued talking constantly. We moved eventually but this isn’t a one off. Seriously if you want to check your phone, or talk to someone stay at home you dickhead. I didn’t pay money to come to this cinema and listen to you talk. Oh and don’t go on Tuesdays it might be fiver (which is cheap I’ll give you that) but it’s like a cattle market.
Vibe
The Swan cinema used to have a great vibe and now it’s a sterile, cut down version of Cineworld. A Cineworld-​lite.
MAXX
So the big selling point of the cinema is you can watch films in MAXX!!! Ooo is that like IMAX I thought? The answer is no. The screen is basically smaller than the big screen used to be at the Swan Cinema. It’s probably even smaller than what I would consider a decent size cinema. The sound and picture are ok but it still suffers from all the other issues.
Overall
The worst, most depressing cinema I’ve ever had the misfortune to go to. Thank you Omniplex for taking a great local cinema and destroying it with your Cineworld-​lite sterile useless cinema.

In screen four today. This screen has terrible sound insulation.
We could hear the Rathmines clock tower ringing. We could hear the air-​con (still). We could hear other movies. We heard a loud engine going by, but this could have been another movie.
The projector was a couple of degrees crooked. I noticed this another time recently with the third Hobbit movie. I do not recall which screen that was.
Sitting at the edge resulted in a speaker obstructing the screen view a little.
So why mention all these moany points? This is a newly renovated cinema. They charge the same as other cinemas (most days). I don’t think it’s good value or acceptable, with these faults. Only for its a 10 minute walk away and on Tuesday’s its only 5 EUR in, we’d be going somewhere else.
We’ve both agreed for treats and for much anticipated movie releases, we will be going to the Odeon down by the Point instead.
Staff are nice.

I’ll be honest with you. I preferred the old cinema. I really liked it when it was smaller. Now it’s just this big and expensive cinema. Seems a little cold and too big for little old Rathmines village.

Ok — so since the Swan Centre Omniplex was updated, this place is now AWESOME! Although, I haven’t been to the Maxx screen, so my review is just for their regular cinema screens. The new seats are like these big comfy leather rocking chairs. They aren’t stiff uprights like the old ones. The seating number/​rows are very easily marked, so they aren’t difficult to see in the dark if you like to skip the previews like I do. The rows are set up in a way the the person in front of me did not obstruct my view either. Which was nice, as a really short person.
You can order your tickets online, which we did. And when you first arrive, it wasn’t very clearly marked where to pick up pre-​purchased tickets. But the place wasn’t that busy so we eventually found it quickly. I could see how this would be difficult to find if it was busy.
The only other downside (I don’t go to the cinema super often, so I don’t’ know if this is a standard thing or just in this cinema) is that after the movie was over, the didn’t turn the lights on so I could see if i had left anything under my seat. I had to use the flashlight on my phone.
All in all — great new cinema, especially since the remodel.

A fantastic new addition to Rathmines. I went along last night to watch the Inbetweeners on the MAXX Screen — what a screen it is. The lads here say it’s an ‘LSF’ screen — ‘large screen format’ — which basically means it’s fecking massive. It’s over 20 metres long and is 11.1 frequency for sound (or something like that) To be honest, I’m a total technophobe, so I don’t know the full details, but what I do know is that the sound is incredible, and the screen is very very clear.
The winner for me though were the seats. They nearly look like racing car seats — big red things that envelope you in them, and, they rock a little back and forth so you don’t feel too rigid.
The whole place is pretty sparkly and new. Nice toilets, the usual food and drink — at the usual premium of course.
I’m not sure of the price on the MAXX Screen but as far as I know there’s an extra surcharge on the screen. I would always prefer the independent screens for their value for money too, so I’d probably only be going if I was going to see something that really needed big sound /​visuals, like a music or action based movie, which it would be great for.
Overall though, great location and great facility.

The new Omniplex in Rathmines opened on July 4 with 8 screens showing new releases. The place is large and squeeky clean at the moment, and so it’s a great time to give them a try. There is parking right next to the entrance as part of the Swan Shopping Center, and plenty of snacks at the large concession stand. And, if you want to see a movie and don’t mind attending early in the day, there are some very good discounts for films shown before 1 pm (13:00).

Love this cinema! Very comfy seats — not a problem with heads in front of you (I’m short!). All tickets only € 5 on Tuesday’s which is a bonus!