Just as Nolan Intended - Experiencing the UK's largest screen - The BFI IMAX review
At this point you all know how much I love going to the movies, or the "cinema" if you're from the UK, and being based in London, I have the incredible opportunity of visiting multiple and diverse venues. From cinema chains such as Odeon, Vue and Picturehouse, to more independent venues like Garden at the Cinema, Olympic Studios and others.
But today I am not just reviewing any cinema, but the biggest and probably my favorite place to watch movies in the entire United Kingdom, namely the BFI IMAX near Waterloo station. Here are some facts for you - the BFI IMAX is the largest screen in the UK measuring 25.9 metres wide by 19.8 metres high (approx. 26m x 20m), that's basically the height of 5 double decker bases stacked on top of each other.
The entire venue boasts just one screen which holds a capacity of around 500 people. That one large screen is encased in the now iconic glass-cylindrical building which immiedately stands out when you leave Waterloo station as the cinema is placed in the middle of a busy traffic roundabout near the super busy station.
One of my favorite walks in London is the walk from Waterloo station to the BFI IMAX especially during sunsets or the evening where you can properly take in the sheer size of this building. In all my years of living in London and visiting the venue, I still can't get over the idea of someone deciding to build a cinema venue in the middle of a busy roundabout in one of the busiets and loudest cities in the world. Yet from what I understand the entire upper structure rests on special anti-vibration bearings to block out noise and rumbles.
Its actually confusing to figure out how to enter the venue for the first time but there are several tunnels that lead from the roundabout to the entrances which are located below ground level in this very "Last of Us" kind of entrance with lots of overgrown plants and vines hanging around.
The venue itself includes a main reception area, a bar and an additional floor where you have a snacks bar and the doors to entering the screening. It's not the fanciest looking venue in the world nor is it the most modern, but everything feels perfect for what the space is offering you, which is one of the few places on this beautiful earth that can project authentic 15-perf/70mm IMAX film prints, alongside modern advanced laser digital projection systems and standard 35mm/70mm capabilities. Just how Nolan intended!
Its hard to really put into worlds how immersive and inspiring watching something on such a large screen, especially movies that were filmed for IMAX on 70MM, is. You feel like you had just experienced one of the great inventions of modern humanity, something so aw insirping and unreal that makes you appreciative of the art form that is cinema.
2026 in particular seems to have catapulted the IMAX 70MM craze into another level with screenings like the Odyssey being completely sold out at the BFI IMAX since July. I was lucky enough to get a ticket for a morning screening of the Odyssey back in July and it just re-confirmed my feelings on the venue especially watching it at a sold out screening with other cinephiles. An underrated feature of the BFI IMAX is that they have several staff members constanly on the lookout for people chit chatting or using their phones and overal ensuring the survival of cinema ettiquette even in the post-pandemic world that we live in where unfortunelty alot of that seems to have gone out of the window.
My most recent visit at the BFI IMAX was for the screening of Zach Cregger's incredible Resident Evil movie where I managed to get a last minute ticket to an evening screening - which was my first "late-night" visit to the glass cylinder of dreams. Obviously I had a great time and the fact that the venue is so close to major train and underground stations is such a massive bonus.
One final note on the venue, as regular readers or watchers might know at this point, I love collecting movie tickets, its just one of those things I've learned to cherish over the past few years as the world is moving away from physical products such as discs to the digital world where you dont own anything and everything is a license. The BFI IMAX have some of the better physical tickets out there, however they have recently changed their policy as you now have to wait until after your screening to get the ticket. Eventhen, they dont seem to happy when you do ask for it, but staff members have nevertheless been very poltie and professional every time they do. However, you can tell that they would rather not even though its one of the easiests part of their jobs.
Overall if you want to experience the best that cinema as to offer not just in the UK but in the world, that I emplore you to visit the BFI IMAX in Waterloo and watch one of my favorite mediums transport you to another world. With how quickly the world is changing and pushing us to stay at home with our devices, venues like the BFI IMAX are one of the few places where we can come together and get away from the world for a few hours consuming art(that is hopefully made my humans).
Comments