Odeon Covent Garden

Screen 2 is a decent size with a big screen and tiered seating so good views wherever you sit. It is right opposite the ticket office, and next to the Ladies. One of the better screens at this Odeon, with more leg room and comfier seats. £2.10 to upgrade to a premier seat.

It’s a movie theatre, so purely in terms of the films they do just fine. They get a decent range of films.
But the venue itself is a bit awkward and cramped, and for some of the screens you need to walk a fairly circuitous route, which isn’t a big hassle but just kind of… awkward.
The toilets are somewhat small.
Convenient location.

Good movie theater! I’d see a movie here again. Over 30 minutes of ads and previews before the movie started, but that seems to be the case at most theaters. Seats were comfortable enough. We chose this place because the movie we wanted to see was playing here at a convenient time. Staff were polite but not super friendly. Nice that they have a small area where we could sit while we waited for our movie to open up for seating. If you’re spending the afternoon in the Covent Garden area this is a good place to catch a film. Saw Beginners here. Assigned seating.

This is probably my most favourite branch of a giant cinema chain for several reasons:
The films shown, though generally indie/​arthouse fare, are almost always excellent choices, and often times are not shown elsewhere nearby. They also keep them running a sensible amount of time, so I can often catch that indie gem 5 weeks after release.
The screens are all excellent. I’m ‘iffy’ about the need to transfer all screens to digital, particularly since it has resulted in talented projectionists losing their jobs. But at least the screens at Covent Garden have excellent clarity of picture and wonderful sound, which certainly isn’t the case with a lot of other central London digital screens.
The cinema, though awkwardly laid out (which seems the status quo for Odeon), is always clean and shiny.
The staff are helpful, the drinks and snacks aren’t anything special but also aren’t hideously expensive.
Plus the Odeon Première club is actually genuinely worth signing up for (I’ve already had 4 free tickets this year and have plenty of points banked for more).

always showing good films

This theatre has a great atmosphere. It feels like an art house cinema, and the films available are off the beaten track. I love the the door handles, which are moulded from the hands of Britain’s most famous actors and actresses. Also, the toilets are quite clean!
My only gripe is that the service wasn’t too friendly. Still, all-​in-​all it was a good experience.

It feels a bit strange to review such a big chain as the Odeon Cinemas, but since I think that this specific Odeon does not fit in with the ‘average Odeon’, I thought it should be worth a mention. This is probably the cinema I tend to go to the most. It is located on Shaftesbury Avenue, towards the Covent Garden side making it an easy location to meet with friends and have a pre/​post cinema drink in the area.
Most remarkably, this cinema often shows films that are not your standard Hollywood options. I have seen many French and Italian film screenings here and they also specialize in showing films that are in correspondence to certain educational curriculums. Since they also show some films that are part of certain Film Festivals, this cinema is always worth a look if you are looking for a different experience and trying to become more knowledgeable with the contemporary film industry.
It is true that most of the rooms in the cinema are smaller than your average Odeon, but after all this is what allows it to show these more obscure titles and the sound quality of the films have never been affected by this.

The range of films shown is a little differnt from most theatres — so it is a good place to go to see things that may not be elsewhere. Highlights include door knobs fashioned from the casts of hands of famous actors such as Sir Michael Caine (who has surprisingly small mitts) — also they have the old fashioned tradition of closing the curtain after showing the previews in order to change the reel — so it is a little nostalgic

Great place, excellent films, friendly and helpful staff