Cineworld Cinema - The O2 Greenwich
The O2, Peninsula Square,
London,
SE10 0AX
The O2, Peninsula Square,
London,
SE10 0AX
2 people
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Just back from my first visit here in a while. The disruptive part of the refurbishment work seems to be over with toilets and the usual access routes to the screens reinstated.
Barring some cladding to the outside of the lift all traces of the previous decor have gone from the foyer. In common with other new or refurbished Cineworlds it features a glossy, sparkly red and black floor (which must be fun when wet!) and dark grey walls and ceilings. Lighting is by way of red and blue spotlights in the ceiling which interesting seem to use a coloured filter glass rather than a coloured or colour changing LED. Previously round pillars have had their cladding stripped back so they’re now square and much more compact, and their corners are lit with incredibly bright cyan LEDs (which burn into your retina when leaving a dark screen). The wall behind the escalator is lit with backlit coloured squares plus a red star. So far no sign of the typical ribbon of LED display or ceiling-suspended red star but it’s obvious where these are going to go.
Brand new concessions counter with Blockbusters style red, white and black hexagonal tiles at the back and a very bright and colourful internally lit counter. All menus etc are displayed on a continues strip of LCD displays. The standalone Baskin Robbins ice cream counter has been removed and integrated into the run of the main counter, freeing up circulation space in the foyer.
What was once the bar is now yet more circulation space and there’s wiring and signage ready for a long row of ticket machines under the escalator. Clearly this is an exercise in preparing for greater volumes of people passing through once the extension opens. Hopefully they’ll add some seating as at the moment there is nothing to sit on whilst waiting.
Toilets have been refurbished to a good standard with a similar layout to before however they now have a door at the entrance – you did sometimes get toilet whiffs in the corridor previously!
Tinkering with the Superscreen continues – the Dolby Atmos installation sounds good however there are still random white wires hanging out of the walls at high level so maybe more to come? The original blue ribbons of light across the ceiling have gone, replaced by red-lit troughs containing speakers. The 2007-vintage plethora of cold white LED downlighters has been replaced by a smaller number of more modern warm-white ones. Surprisingly given Cineworld’s apparent mania for over-illuminating screens, these are an improvement: under the old set up most of them would stay on during the film at a very low level, including a row right in front of the screen. With the new ones only the spots above stairs and walkways stay on, dim enough so as not to have any negative impact. Stair edges are well lit in red.
I’ll reserve judgement on how I feel about the refurb when the extension is done. At the moment in its unfinished state it feels like a cheapening of the space, because the unusually plush bar area added a more grown-up feel to things. But I guess it would be fair to say that the main foyer area was becoming a little stale.
Photos added.
Superscreen balcony getting another refurb in the new year, according to Cineworld’s Twitter account. My guess is conversion to VIP with relciners – interestingly the most recent refurb could be considered a downgrade on what was there before with the tables etc taken out and seating matching the main floor.
Zappomatic: If they’ve already done the new fit-out last time you visited, then why would the acoustics change for Atmos?
The “wooden” wall cladding I can only assume was there because someone thought it would look good… an acoustic disaster!
Quite interesting to compare the original auditorium with today’s standards, cinema interiors have moved on a lot in 10 years. Granted, they tend towards black boxes with few decorative features, but they’re far better than the average tacky multiplex auditorium.
Really should haul myself over to the O2 at some point check out the refurbished screen… alas, more “new” auditoria than films worth seeing these days!
I’m still yet to go to the O2 Superscreen and find out whether the Atmos install fixed the echo issues (I have an Unlimited card and currently there’s no surcharge for Leicester Square’s Superscreen so I’m drawn there!) however I do notice that in early pictures of the O2 Superscreen, the balcony’s back wall, side walls and front are covered in something resembling wooden flooring. This is long since gone/covered over but I wonder who in their right mind thought it was a good idea in the first place?
Zappomatic: Ah! Personally I’d rather flagship/key sites were invested in… bringing up auditoria to “next gen” standards of projection, sound and seating requires major investment…
There were so many multiplexes built within a few years, it’s a little strange to think that they are starting to become like the “fleapits” that so many of the old picture palaces ended up as…
It might be (yet more!) off the mark speculation from my overactive brain, but as Canary Wharf expands North towards Aspen Way it’s getting awfully close to the Cineworld…
I’d be amazed if Billingsgate Market doesn’t move at some point… the adjacent McDonald’s Drive-Thru has been demolished to make way for high rise apartments (with a replacement McDonald’s!) OK, not directly relevant to this site, but it’s a clue on the direction things are moving in the area…
Ah looks like I missed out the fact I was referring to its nearest Cineworld neighbour, West India Quay.
Zappomatic:
Eh?
Auditoria lighting level is often dictated by the local council for health and safety reasons. Bexleyheath was an annoying example.
When I visited it in February 2016, it still reminded me of its Vue past, namely black matte walls, very dark auditoria when film is showing, wall-to-wall Scope screens and a good sense of proportion between screens and seating; all positive facets of latter Vue builds.
I’m sorry to hear that Cineworld are putting more light into the auditoria. I think generally that they are not as interested as other operators in making watching films a good experience by keeping lights off. I have heard this about other Cineworlds too.
Wonder what speakers they’re using for Atmos? The SuperScreen had almost as well specified a system as Empire 1 with top-of-the-line JBL ScreenArray screen speakers (dual 18" drivers for the bass section.)
In preparation for the extension the bar area and the upper foyer are now stripped out and boarded off (photo added), with access to the Superscreen via a new entrance next to the ice cream counter, balcony out of use and screens 6 to 10 through the entrance to screens 1-5.
The cinema has confirmed via Facebook that the Superscreen now has Dolby Atmos.
According to a press release the 50,000 square feet extension (along with an indoor trampoline park of the same size) breaks ground later this month.
Cineworld O2’s Facebook page says the Superscreen reopens this Thursday, but no indication of what’s changed however the balcony won’t be available immediately.
The Supersreen despite having a refurb fairly recently is now closed again until 18 September. My suspicion is that they didn’t actually install Atmos during the first closure despite advertising it as so equipped – saw Beauty and The Beast there some months ago and couldn’t spot any additional speakers and there were wires hanging out of the wall (naughty Cineworld!).
Title spelling has been corrected.
Realised this listing needs its title correcting. It’s the O2 (letter O) not the 02.
Visited recently, it seems screens 1-5 have been refurbished (including overhead lighting which is now distractingly bright however the floor lights have been dimmed) plus the Superscreen which now has Dolby Atmos. 6-10 upstairs are untouched, as are corridors meaning this cinema now has four different types of carpet throughout.
Visited today and the refurbished screens have new carpet and new seats (identical to the ones trialled as “Star Seating” at some other locations including nearby West India Quay) – seems odd to replace very comfortable seats that were only nine years old and in good condition. Seems to have reduced the legroom slightly.
New red LED strips on the edges of steps, and bright row indicators (replacing old blue LEDs that were starting to fail). This also includes very bright white strips along both sides of the ramp up into the screen, which unfortunately manage to shine on the screen on that side and wash out the picture in darker scenes.
Ceiling and wall lighting remains the same, which means the house lights are dim, cold LED bulbs from 2007 – as you might imagine most of these are starting to fail too.
Bizarrely the bar is covered in some fake wood panelling and red bulbs in many of the lights. Presumably this is something to do with the Empire Live event as it looks temporary and pretty awful!
I’m just finding this all a bit odd as they have other sites in London greater need of upgrading, for example other than the Star Seating trial and some new carpet the screens are unchanged from their 2000 state meaning a metal bar can be felt in the backrest of many of the seats.
Planning permission applied for to add eight screens, some of which will be VIP screens as installed at Milton Keynes, 4DX and possibly a Superscreen.
Also twitter reports seem to suggest that existing screens are being given new carpets and new or reupholstered seats, which is interesting as there are definitely ofher Cineworlds that could use new seats first such as West India Quay.
This is now the Cineworld O2.
http://www.cineworld.co.uk/news/210/detail
Opening day 29th June 2007; photograph of the main entrance:
http://flickr.com/photos/27843521@N00/916844849/