The Embassy

10 Kent Terrace
Wellington, New Zealand

Review by Jacob on 05/23/2008:

Last night Brandie & I saw Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull at The Embassy Theatre in Wellington, NZ.

The theater was originally opened in 1924 and renovated in 2003 for the Return of the King premiere. It seats 1,749 in a gorgeous auditorium that reminded both Brandie & I of the Kodak Theater you see on the Academy Awards.

We arrived at the theater about an hour before the show and had a beer and appetizer at the cafe in the lobby. The theater has assigned seating and we purchased our tickets in advance so it made the wait for the show very civil - no worries about lines or whether we'd get a bad seat.

Sound, picture and seating were all top notch - I had no difficulty enjoying the film. Sound was clear but not painfully loud, and the seats were very large and comfortable. At some point in the future I'd like to try out their 'platinum seating' which for a few dollars more gets you leather armchairs in a front-and-center location. I didn't bring a drink into the theater but saw many other movie-goers with glasses of wine or bottles of beer.

My only complaint was that given the size of the auditorium the screen actually seemed a little small! Four thumbs up for The Embassy.

Cinema Grade = B