We were invited to a movie night at Cineworld earlier in the week to try out their newest screen experience ScreenX.

“ScreenX is the world’s first multi-projection cinema technology expanding the traditional cinema screen to the side auditorium walls, creating a 270-degree viewing experience for the audience during selected film sequences.”

And that really is what it is all about. So no matter where you sit in the cinema you are right in the middle of the action which is happening on three sides. The effect is switched on and off and is most used for the scenes where there is a chase or some real motion. And yes they turn off the exit lights above the side doors so as not to distract you from what is on screen.

Lindsay Cook, General Manager of Cineworld Edinburgh said : “We are excited to be the first cinema in Scotland to launch ScreenX. We are driven by innovation and following the success of 4DX, ScreenX will offer more ways for our customers to experience film. We’ll be opening the screen with Spiderman: Far From Home followed by Annabelle Comes Home and can’t wait to transport movie fans into the onscreen action.”

And far from being a gimmick or something that I thought might make me feel ill I very much enjoyed it. It really added an extra dimension to the film.

The film being shown at the moment is the superhero film Spider-Man: Far From Home. This is not the kind of movie I would usually choose to see, but I really was pleasantly surprised by the humour in the $160 million film as well as all the high flying action. I suppose that in Edinburgh we have an affinity with the Marvel films, as recently they used the city as a backdrop for Infinity Wars with film crews all over the Old Town. The resulting few minutes (if that) of footage showing Edinburgh must have been worth it! These are big budget films and so it was an appropriate one to use the newest technology to watch.

Cineworld at White Rose Shopping Centre, Leeds, unveiling the revolutionary new ScreenX (a 270 degree cinema screen – giving viewers a more immersive cinema experience) – PHOTO Jonathan Pow/jp@jonathanpow.com

Tom Holland as a very young Spider-Man grew on me as the film progressed, although it is unbelievable that this is his fifth outing as the superhero. Jake Gyllenhaal is a really believable Mysterio and Samuel L Jackson is well, Samuel L Jackson.

And yes, without spoiling it for you Spider-Man does save the world.

Cineworld Edinburgh is now showing films on ScreenX, the first cinema in Scotland to do so. Tickets are ÂŁ14.00 for adults or an additional ÂŁ3 with your Cineworld Unlimited card. More details here.

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.