Secret Cinema: The Empire Strikes Back Review

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As I eluded to in Geektown Radio a few weeks ago, I recently spent an evening in a galaxy far far away (otherwise know as a large warehouse in London), courtesy of the rebel scum at Secret Cinema. Last year they took people back in time with their Back To The Future extravaganza, but this year sees them take to the stars with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Your journey starts before you even get to event, with you being assigned a role and a character to play when you get there. I should say, if you are going to go, get dressed up. You don’t have to of course, and the night I went there were people who put in various levels of effort. However, I rather got the feeling the more effort you made, the more likely you are to get singled out in the interactive story playing out in front of you.

Once you’re arrive at the secret location, you’re thrown into the world of Star Wars and… well, I don’t want to say too much as to spoil it for people… But its fair to say, you get to visit some key locations, and meet some well know characters as you’re guided through an interactive story set in a universe we all know and love.

The pre-film sections are just brilliant fun. The ‘space’ split into 2 main locations, and whilst I enjoyed ‘location 2’, for me, ‘location 1’ was just phenomenally good. There’s a kind of lacklustre review in one of the national papers today about how the film “wasn’t of interest” to people and they preferred to hang around the bar… Well, of course you idiot, you’ve rather proved how you totally missed the point… We’ve seen the film hundreds of times! This is the one night you can actually STAND in one of the locations from the film! The actors are great throughout, from the ‘feature’ players to the stall owners and bar tenders (bring a credit/debit card, then don’t take ‘earth money’). No one broke character. They were also brilliant with the kids we had in our group.

Although you maybe mesmerised by the world, I would urge anyone going to go and watch the film when it starts. Make sure you keep your eyes open around the room whilst it plays out too. There’s plenty of time to hang out in the bar afterwards and party into the small hours… And what a bar to hang out in…

Look… I know it’s over £70, and some people are saying that is a lot to see a film… but if you’re a Star Wars fan, believe me, it’s not. It’s so SO much more than seeing a film. It’s an experience. It’s a Star Wars themed world where you can interact with the people. It’s a chance for you to stand somewhere you never thought you’d be able stand, on a world you’d never thought you’d be. You have to go to this event. Search your feelings… you know it to be true…

SECRET CINEMA Presents STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK runs now until 27th September 2015 www.secretcinema.org/tickets

10/10 – Feels like you’re in a galaxy far far away!