AMC Mercado 20

3111 Mission College Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95054, USA

Related:	cinelux plaza theatre
Address:	3111 Mission College Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95054, USA
Phone:	+1 408-919-0282
Site:	amctheatres.com
Rating:	4

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Rick Chandler

This review would be better if ... 1. Sound quality. Varies from screen to screen, but many shows have annoying reverb, or too loud, or not loud enough. Its like its automated and no one checks. 2. They screw up constantly on what show plays in what theater, Ive seen a lot of sold out small theaters, while the big theaters have only 20 or so people. 3. Likewise, making people wait in line outside, and only a few show up. They need to keep an eye on what shows are popular and what shows are selling fewer than expected tickets, and make decisions on the fly. But there seems to be no adult supervision in that regard. If this is an AMC policy issue, well, I may have to take my business elsewhere. 4. Security guard who herds people out after the show to a certain door. Screw you rent-a-cop, my car is nowhere near that door. 5. Biggest complaint: No independent, limited edition films. Maybe devote one small screen a couple times a week to hard-to-find cinema? Thats the problem with huge corporations -- you only get Frozen, Man of Steel, etc. The reason movie cineplexes are dying is because big theater chains only show mainstream movies. If the margin is so slight that you cant afford to show an independent film, your company is going to die anyway.Become a Wal-Mart. 6. Can you tell your cleanup crew not to stand in the aisles and rustle plastic bags until the movie is actually over? 7. They used to let you bring in food -- we often grabbed a Jamba Juice and took them in. They changed that policy, though, and dont let in any outside food. In response to that, we eat elsewhere and have never used their snack bar. Weve also cut down on the number of films we attend. Good Things: 1. Ample parking, if you dont care about walking a few extra yards. 2. Staff is friendly and accommodating. 3. Lots of places to eat around the theater. Although they closed our favorite sushi place. 4. Late showtimes. A lot of theaters assume their customers are farmers, or Quakers. Some of us like to see a film at 11:30, OK? Mercado realizes that.

Kennita Watson

Comparing Century (Cinemark) 16 Mountain View to AMC Mercado Santa Clara: I would much rather see the movie at the AMC Mercado, because: a) Mercado is closer to my house b) Mercado parking is less ugly c) the walk into the Mercado auditorium and to seats is much easier (no steep slope) d) at Mercado we will probably get to choose IMAX or IMAX 3D (I prefer 3D) e) I prefer the Mercado seating arrangement (from Wikipedia: "The increased resolution allows the audience to be much closer to the screen; typically all rows are within one screen height; conventional theatre seating runs 8 to 12 screen heights. Also, the rows of seats are set at a steep angle (up to 30° in some domed theatres) so that the audience is facing the screen directly." f) the Cinemark popcorn buckets are a *stupid* maximally-tippable shape g) the Mercado popcorn tastes fresher h) the Cinemark seats are cute, but not much more comfortable, and annoying to adjust i) its a nuisance having to reserve seats in advance (have we *ever* not been able to get seats?) j) IMO, the Mercado IMAX screen is larger than the Cinemark XD screen k) The beverage holders at Cinemark are harder to reach l) I actually prefer having the seats closer together Am I getting through? Can we *please* go to Mercado?

Nick Moline

All-in-all this is a nice theater. Compared to the Century Cinema 16 in Mountain View it has better food and it has an "IMAX" theater. That said the prices are higher and thanks to the recent luxury lounge upgrade at Century Cinemas it is nowhere near as comfortable. Also the IMAX theater is only moderately larger than the normal theaters so it isnt really the true IMAX experience. Parking can often be troublesome during prime time showings, and now that Levi Stadium is open, even matinee showings on Sunday can have heavy traffic getting anywhere near the theater. For a true IMAX experience in the area go to the Metreon in San Francisco or the Regal Hacienda Crossings Stadium 21 in Dublin, both of these have huge full IMAX screens for a much more emmersive experience. There is also the Hackworth Dome in San Jose at the Tech Museum which is a true IMAX Dome theater complete with 70mm film projector, however this is better suited for the actual IMAX films, not a cinema experience.

Sean Schluntz

Reasonable theater with good parking in a lot shared with other stores. It would have been considered a great place in its day but now its a bit dated. Its not old enough to be classic, its just out of date and expensive for what you get. The snack area is built in a confusing way, where do you start? Do you pay first or go past the register to get stuff and then go back? How old is the popcorn on the shelves? There is very little seating, waiting for the rest of your party of for your movie to be ready? No luck there. Finally the seats are surprisingly uncomfortable. They have no give when you try to lean back and are a bit upright for my comfort during a showing. All of the semi-modern and modern theaters I go to these days have seats with a little give or a good bounce so you can find your own angle. The seats could really use updating. In short the three negatives about this theater in order: Ticket price for the experience, seats, and organization of the snack area.

Noah Fiedel

Updated Review: Three movies in a row and this is officially the worst "new" theater Ive been to. Twice in a row the noise from the hallways echoed around the theater during the show. The previews were 28 minutes, followed by a couple min theater-company intro, so the movie started a full 30 minutes after the "showtime". Again long lines. Water and M&Ms were $9. Add two normal (no 3d, no imax) adult tickets ($12 ea) and the total is $33 for an experience worse in nearly every way from watching at home. And the center channel speaker (where most dialog comes from) was broken / buzzing in theater #5 tonight. Sigh. Original Review: Small theater was lame. Could see border around pixels of digital projection. Home TV looks better. Screen had two yellow stains on it. Ushers didnt close door to theater so could hear noise from lobby during first 15 minutes of movie. No self serve ticket machines. Long lines just for tickets.

Gio Gutierrez

Crazy expensive and I went yesterday for the It premiere and I was charged twice on my card for stuff I already paid for. I understood the first time considering its a weird system of grab your pre-filled popcorn and other stuff THEN get in line or pay for the stuff you want THEN go get it. Confusing. So anyway I blamed myself for that one cause I got in line twice after getting my stuff once and going back to pay for some hot dogs since I didnt know you had to pay for that stuff there too. The third time I got in line it was to fix the seconding transaction of being charged twice, and the lady was aware of the situation. She told me Id be refunded 12 dollars from the previous overcharge and instead I got charged yet another 12 dollars. I dont blame her either, their whole place is confusing. System is probably retarded like the person in charge who thought their current system was efficient and smart.