Odeon Camden

Decided to watch Spring Breakers for the heck of it on a Saturday night and Odeon was just across the road. £7.90 for student tickets on a weekend isn’t too horrible, but what’s a little off putting is how shabby the place is. We were at screen 2, which was right at the back, after many doors through a narrowish corridor. I know not to expect too much, it being in Camden, but it just felt a little dingy and trashy, especially with the condom machine in the toilet (maybe that’s normal, idk, I hardly go to the movies in London). Also, more practically, the projection wasn’t the clearest, and I would’ve been pretty disappointed had we gone to see a fancy action flick. I don’t have any positive things to say about the place but it serves its purpose I guess.

Well I definitely never thought I was going to get to 1000 reviews. It just seems like an outrageous number. But I guess I’m just one of those opinionated types. Yeah, like all the rest of you who write here on Unilocal :-)
Anyway, my 1000^th review is more about my experience — getting to see a Bond movie in London. No, it wasn’t the red carpet première. Yes, it was just a regular neighborhood cinema. But, it was really instructive for how they go to movies over here.
You can buy «standard» or «premium» seats. Premiums are just a few dollars more — but they are my favourite seats — up top. For me, the raison d’etre of movie theaters is the large screen and how enjoyable that experience is. It being London and still only 2 weeks since Skyfall had come out, I showed up 30 minutes early. Thank goodness, as the «standard» seats were already filling up.
Imagine if the top half of an American theater was reserved seating for people who had paid more. Even better, those seats are held throughout the movie so people can’t just «move up» after the lights go down.
I managed to be at the top of the «lower half» and laughed as the locals showed up way after I had and were boggled as to how at 7:58pm for an 8pm showing that there weren’t that many seats left.
Anyway, the theater is also much wider. It could be simply the space that Odeon bought didn’t allow for a «traditional» theater construction — rectangular in America. This one was more oval-​shaped — and again, very wide but not very deep/​long.
They also manage to run more commercials in the trailers in England but this is slowly creeping into our movies here too.

As far as cinemas go, you pay your money, you see the film and you leave. This Odeon looks like it’s seen better days both inside and out. The seats in our screen were unbelievably uncomfortable. I was fidgeting practically the whole way through the film trying to get comfortable. There’s just a huge lack of legroom.
However, there was no queue to collect tickets or for the bathroom (especially good seeing as it was Orange Wednesday). Pretty convenient for the tube and for bars and eateries close by. Would probably avoid returning as there are better cinemas in London.

Good seating in this intimate cinema where you get the best of current films. Its never really packed and you get a choice of seats. HH

Well, not like this review is going to get them into tip-​top shape, but if you have a chance to see your movie elsewhere you might want to avoid this place.
Small screen, slowest popcorn people ever, lights were on during the movie (and really bad light bulbs of differing wattage). Bummer. Luckily the flick was good :)

I like that some of the screens in this cinema are smaller and more intimate than the huge vacuous spaces of Leicester Square. There is premium seating should you be wanting to throw your money about. If not, the cinema is generally well kept and standard seats are comfortable enough.

The cinema itself is OK and location is great.
What doesn’t work at all is the whole ‘marketing’ concept which is another example of a business which has no understanding of providing a service that puts the customer first.
What REALLY annoys me here is the two price tier seating which I guess must be an Odeon thing. On one visit we bought the ‘standard’ seating tickets which were already pretty steep. The cinema was almost empty so were forced to sit in the front row standard seating. These are the seats you would only sit in if you were either very short sighted or if no others were available, right under the screen in a small, shallow cinema which was only about 10 rows deep in total. We decided to move back a few rows to the ‘premium seats’ rather than strain our necks since there were about 8 people there in total and no one in the premium seats. As the film started, an attendant came in and in a very rude manner literally shouted at us to move into the front seats.
On another visit every single ‘standard’ seat was filled. The ‘premium’ (ie ‘normal’) seats were empty. Maybe two or four people sitting there and since they came in at the end, clearly only bought them since all the other seats were full.
What kind of marketing strategy is it that is based on preventing customers, who have paid a pretty hefty ticket price, from choosing where to sit and managing to alienate them in the process? I am sure they would say it’s about providing ‘choice’ but that is total BS in my book, as the customer.
Just sell one price of ticket like normal cinemas. You show up, buy a ticket and choose where to sit. First come, first served, first choice of seats. Simple concept eh?
Interior is shabby and it looked like a whole tub of popcorn had been spilled all over the stairs, not cleaned up and probably no intention of cleaning it up either. That just sums it up. Ugh!

So you want to charge me £13.50 for a 3D film and then tell me I have to purchase the glasses separately for £1? Hell to the no. The overpriced ticket should include the glasses. Everyone knows this… everyone but the management in Camden.
This place was complete chaos. There was no order in the queues and there wasn’t anyone telling people where to go. After getting my ticket from a machine we headed upstairs to sit. I passed an employee and asked where we could get our glasses and he instructed that we had to buy them from the counter. The counter that had about 20 or so people surrounding it. What the hell? He told us to skip the queue and ask for the glasses. Okey dokey. Maybe we won’t get yelled at for skipping people, lets give it a go. Luckily none of us were told off and we paid for our glasses and were on our way. By this point I was looking forward to a big box of salty and sweet popcorn.
Well…I got mostly salty stale popcorn. Blegh. I was so over this joint by this point but I had to see the movie. Luckily that was good enough to distract me (I love you Harry!!!) and forget about all the mishaps.
This is an old cinema that needs an upgrade and better, organized management.
(Again…you shouldn’t ever have to pay for your 3D glasses separately! Grrr!!!)

Seriously run-​down cinema, but then it is Camden so what would you expect?
I confess: it fulfilled its basic purpose: I went there; I watched a film.
Really though people, there are so many great places to watch films in London, why would you go here? The screens are mostly pretty pokey. Not sure what some of the other reviewers had to compare them to, because I found the sound and projection quality pretty mediocre.
The food is your usual bad, overpriced Odeon fare. The staff looked like they would rather be anywhere else except at work.
I probably will find myself going back here, but that is not at all down to the venue but because, between seeing The Fighter and Brighton Rock, I got to have the best roast beef lunch ever just over the road in Market. That’s worth putting up with any many of cinematic mediocrity.

Pretty expensive, and the main auditorium isn’t particularly attractive — a huge empty hall with the seats arranged in a strange semi-​circle around the screen. Smaller screens not so bad though. To be honest I prefer the Vue in Islington.

Average price. size etc, but convenient with plenty of showings of the most popular releases.

Not a bad cinema, just a little quirky!
Our screen (5) was on the tiny side and we perhaps only had 15 us in for the showing. This, of course, didn’t stop some weird bint from sitting in front of me whilst using a booster seat. I think I was just attracting the mentals that night.
After a quick change of seats I again noticed how strangely overly-​raked the seating is! You feel like you’re sat bolt upright in the seat because the gradient is so steep! The guy behind me managed to drop his phone just before the trailers started — it went whooshing past my feet and we heard it slide all the way down to the front. Cue the laughing as he retrieved it.
You can buy beer here though for £3 a bottle. I was happy with that.
At the end of the day it’s an Odeon. You know what to expect.

As far as modern cinemas go this one could use a bit of a face-​lift. The food area is a characterless wasteland of a space. This isn’t a huge deal as I don’t generally go to the movies to hang out in the food areas.
I am never quite sure what to expect when I walk into the actual theater as each screen room is quite different. I’ve been in a tiny annex of a room which was a disappointment, a strangely wide yet short (in depth) room, and an average «normal» shaped room and I haven’t yet been in them all.
For an easy trek to the movies this is the location for me 10 minutes walk from home, and more reasonable ticket prices than Leicester square. I am just more used to a bigger more standard and modern movie experience.

A little old and tired.
4 out of the 8 women’s toilets were out of order. Men’s a little better. Foyer needed to be cleaned. Worst of all the sound in the cinema was not balanced.
Few alternatives in the area…

This is a great cinema in that it provides for all needs. There are numerous good sized screens, comfortable seats, the sound systems are impressive and most importantly they have an awesome snack selection. I tend to order nacho’s, popcorn, a hotdog and drink.
Odeon Camden also does not adopt the ludicrously high prices some of the central London cinemas do.
Although Odeon is a chain, the magic of seeing a movie on the big screen is still alive in this Camden theatre.

Its good, I went to see the quantum and solace the other day and it is your usual cinema really. London tickets are overpriced as usual, but it isn’t as chavvy as I expected

Friendly staff, excellent ambiance a good variety of films

Had never really noticed this brnach of the Odeon before, and I usually try to avoid all Odeons in general, but I went here the other night and was pleasantly surprised. Although it’s more pricey than I’m used too (£9 for an adult ticket), it’s a really cozy cinema and the staff are lovely. The only weird thing is that the general area where I usually like to sit in a cinema, ie. towards the back so that you’re not too close to the screen, is all taken up by Première seats, which cost an extra £1.50, and apparently they come and check up on you that you’ve got the right ticket. Bit cheeky really

I prefer this smaller version of the huge Odeon cinema in Leicester Square. Not only is it much closer to where I live, its size also makes it much more cozy. Not as glamourous I know, but much more cozy. And the quality of the film you go to watch is, obviousely, the same whether you go to a large cinema to watch it or not.
Odeon in Camden has lots of small shops, pubs and cafes in its immediate surroundings and is also very close to the tube station as well as bus stops with good connections to all of London.