Jedi fans see dark side at film showing
AWELSH cinema has refunded Star Wars fans after a screening of the new film was ruined by drunks.
Following the eagerly-anticipated release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Thursday, fans had been flocking to see the latest instalment in the film franchise. But excitement soon turned to despair at the Odeon in Llanelli as it became clear that two very drunk men had no intention of enjoying the film quietly.
One local woman has described how she realised very early on in the screening that the £42 she had spent on tickets for her and her family would be money wasted.
“They were drunk coming in, but they were absolutely annihilated by the end of the film,” she said.
“I knew there would be trouble right from the start. We were sat in our seats, very excited to see the new film. I’d booked the tickets a month in advance and we had our Star Wars T-shirts on – it was a big deal to us. Then I noticed these two men come into the theatre. They had loads of cans with them.”
The woman, who did not wish to be named, explained that, despite repeated requests for them to be quiet, the two men carried on drinking, shouting and even swearing at the screen.
“The guy in front asked them to be quiet, and they would be for a couple of minutes, but then they would start up again – swearing at the screen! They were so drunk that I don’t think they had a clue what was going on.
“They kept coming in and out all the time as well, probably to use the toilet or to have a cigarette. At one point, one of them fell over all the empty lager cans that were lying on the floor. I can laugh about it now, but at the time I was fuming.”
The film was being shown in the packed-out screen 4 of Llanelli’s Odeon cinema, which houses 78 people. Many of those present were children, and they had to endure some coarse language as the film went on.
“I think that nobody wanted to antagonise the situation because there were so many kids there,” added the woman. “There was one child sat near us who was celebrating his birthday, so his day was ruined. I certainly didn’t want to argue with two drunk blokes because I had my daughter with me.”
Having been left outraged at the men’s behaviour, the other cinemagoers spoke to each other in the foyer upon leaving the screening to express their disappointment that the film had been ruined.
General Manager at Odeon cinema in Llanelli Paul Gilbert apologised to all those affected and praised his staff for dealing with the situation.
“We have apologised to anyone affected by the disturbance, and following the screening offered full refunds and free passes to return to the cinema. We look forward to welcoming them back again soon.”