Metro 4 Theatre

Charming theater. Small yet spacious. Pretty casual so don’t expect too much but great surround sound. My movie was a little over 2 hours and I was comfortable the whole time. It’s a movie theater so in regards to the reviews that say it’s dirty or grubby, it’s not that bad, but I wouldn’t recommend eating off of the floor.

This place is dirty dirty dirty. Customer service is horrible and when you get to your show we were in room #4 there was NO sound. I watched the previews which were 15 minutes, did I say there was no sound! Then the movie screen turned black, no picture. We waited another 10 minutes because we thought they were working on it… well they weren’t, as we began to leave with many other people the employees and manager were outside smoking. Perfect time for a smoke break don’t you think? So needless to say the 1-​star was for returning my money…

Wifey and I decided to catch a movie here during our latest jaunt to Santa Barbara. We’d gone to the Fiesta 5 down the street once before (and liked it), and decided to give this one a try. Good choice!
Don’t let the 5 star rating I’m giving mislead you. This is no means an extravagant, grand theater. However — it pretty much gets everything right. The prices of the tickets and food were *very* reasonable; surprisingly so, for the area. The service was also very friendly. Eli, the person helping us at the concession stand was really great… double boxing our popcorn box to avoid butter stains on clothing and even giving us a small discount on our food because we had to wait for the hot dogs to finish cooking. How often do you see that?
The theater itself is kinda like the TARDIS; i.e. bigger on the inside. From the front façade it doesn’t look like its going to be very big… but the theaters themselves are surprisingly roomy.
Couple this with comfy seats… good picture and sound… and clean restrooms and you can’t go wrong at all.
Highly recommend this spot when your near State Street and want to catch a movie. We’ll certainly be back!

Cool little theater that was the spot on State Street before Paseo Nuevo, however still relevant this is a cool spot tucked away in the middle of shopping areas and always showing the newest releases in theaters that are fairly clean but with the staff is very friendly and nice I always enjoy going to this theater. Decent size screens and good sound as well

Seen fast and furious 7 here, cool old school theater. The front door guy kinda of freaked out when my sons and I walked through the door looking for the ticket booth. He was like how can i help you homeboy? lol. anyways, the ticket booth was outside. Another guy came in behind me, the same door guy welcomed him with a good evening sir, may i take your ticket.
The theater itself is small, the way i like it. and inside to movie screen room the screens are ginormous. Cool place but like allot of businesses i review they need more diversity and workers to be culturally conscious.

Friendly staff, vintage vibes overall neat theatre. Santa Barbara is one of the prettiest cities, so it’s no wonder that even a simple theatre would carry that charm. You can count of them for having super fresh crispy popcorn, so good! Also bet that they’ll have a clean facility, friendly staff and a selection of current films. Cute local spot right on State Street. Starbucks near by, ice cream shop, tons of restaurants and shops.

went to see the new movie by ridley scott. The 3d is always so much better here for some reason. Oh and the arlington always has good 3d as well. Anyone know why? Anyway the seats are nice, sound is goo quality, projectors shoot a clean picture. not sure what else you would want in a theater. Always have good times here with friends.

Grubby.
That pretty much says it all. The seats smell bad, they are kind of caked in dirt that looks like a plastic coating on the arm rest fabric. There was gum stuck in the cup holders all the way along the row we wanted to sit at, gross. (Gross that people did it in the first place, of course, but it sure didn’t look like it had been done just that day, or even that week, so it should have been cleaned up.)
The bathroom was filthy and one of the doors was so badly broken and wouldn’t open all the way that it snapped back at me when I tried to open it and hit me pretty hard in the shoulder.
The girl making the popcorn SNEEZED ALL OVER IT. I’m not exaggerating, she didn’t even turn her head away. Gross.
What’s the point of seeing a movie in a gross, filthy environment when you could go to virtually any other theatre in town and sit in a relatively clean seat.

I am a regular at this movie theater and was extremely disappointed by my experience this evening. Not only was the supervisor’s customer service poor, but the girls working behind the snack bar actually made fun of me when I was leaving the theater. My fiancé and I go to movies at this theater for date night all the time. I have been told by staff on numerous occasions that I could bring in coffee from the nearby starbucks in with me. Tonight I was told I could not bring drinks in unless the supervisor okayed it. The ticket girl pointed me to the supervisor and I explained that I had just spent $ 15 on coffee and my fiancé was already in our seats. The staff had also oversold the movie so he couldn’t come out and drink the coffee without losing our seats. I actually left the theater to get coffee and bring it back because it has never been a problem in the past. Cole was very short with me and told me he wouldn’t let me bring anything into the theater. I asked him if he would refund our money and he got one of the other employees to come do it and then proceeded to ignore me. As I was leaving, my fiancé watched two of the girls behind the snack bar mimicking me as I left. This is not only inappropriate, but mean and a horrible way to treat customers. The employees were actually bullying one of their customers. I am beyond upset with my experience at this theater tonight. This is an unacceptable way to treat people.
I received this message from one of the employees as a response. Like I said, horrible customer service.
i lov3 how twisted and fake your story is. oversold theatre = sold out show, silly goose. theres no way of over selling, you dingleberry. my supervisors didnt ignore u but if thats what tickles your fancy then believe it. ur def no regular ive never seen u we love having self entitled peeps come up thinkingthey can bring in coffee and just cuz we dont sell it and u think u can keep it. guess what, we dont sell pizza either and you dont see us letting people in with dominos. SORRY THE WHOLE WORLD DOESNT REVOLVE AROUND YOU AND YOUR FATTY DRINKS. and trust me, the entire line of customers were making fun of u
Update: The manager of the theater called me and apologized and is trying to make things right… So, hopefully this was a one time thing.

Went for second time for the Santa Barbara Film festival and went away AGAIN wondering why they choose to host it here. It has «downtown charm» going for it, but needs a make-​over, especially since you pay top dollar to see Film festival movies.

I went for the film festival– a week after having gone to Sundance, so it’s probably not entirely fair to consider it in that context… The theater isn’t particularly nice, the arm of the chair was broken so when I put my arm on it, the hard plastic dug into my arm. It’s charming, though.

Excellent!

This movie theater drastically needs a makeover, STAT. Here’s why:
Saturday night, 8:15 showing of the Hobbit. I want to see Smaug, dammit! We drive and drive and drive and drive trying to find free parking – whatever happened to free parking in downtown SB? Oh right, first 90 mins are free for the closest lot on Ortega St. They don’t think about Smaug and how his movie goes on and on for 2+ hrs so I get charged $ 4.50 on my way out… but that’s another review for downtown SB parking.
We quickly buy our tickets, I get my overindulgent, over-​priced, overly buttered movie theater popcorn. While my taste buds and stomach are satiated by the melted, buttery goodness, I almost walk past the auditorium. Because… guess what? This theater has… wait for it… wait for it… FOUR auditoriums squeezed next to each other! How the hell could someone even miss them? Just stuff yourself senseless with that buttery crack and I guarantee that you will also miss auditorium #4.
We enter auditorium #4 and end up climbing over 3 people because the rows are only accessible on one side. Poor planning if emergency evacuation is needed. I get stuck on the end, next to the carpeted wall. And guess what? 1 hour into the movie, I fall asleep because the AC isn’t working and I’m in toasty slumber until I’m rudely awaken by my seat cushion dropping. Yes, my chair malfunctioned. But I don’t give a hoot because it’s dark and I’m warm and I’m zzzzzz. I wake up again to see Smaug shaking off molten gold and look over to see my friends sweaty and stripped nearly to their undies because we’re in some dark and warped oven that trembles to the resonance of Benedict Cumberbatch.
I could have just written «this theater needs better layout, temperature control, seats that don’t drop, and improved evacuation planning to be worth the extra $ 4.50 I paid for parking.» But, I wanted to document that it’s possible to be lulled to sleep by Smaug given the right circumstances.
I recommend going to Goleta Camino Real Cinemas where they have free parking, AC, stadium seating, and exits on both sides!

Bottom line: A great local theater
I have been going here since i was a kid. This is a great local theater that’s been around for a long time. Some of the amenities show the theaters’ age but none the less it’s a great place to take in a movie.

Lack of employees on shift to service patrons (hostess was running back and forth between taking tickets and servicing the snack bar), snack bar out of everything, filthy stained floors and bathrooms, graffiti on theater walls, theater walls with holes in them, and movie screen with very dark picture quality. Yeah, this place is a real winner… I’m waiting for the electricity to go out now.

Nice theater
Came here to obviously enjoy a good cinematic advantage, and it was a success. The theater had nice seating, and a good assortment of snacks amd drinks. The movie was uninterrupted and the bathrooms seemed fairly clean.

It doesn’t look like much on the outside but The Metro 4 Theater on State St. has a lot to offer! It’s 4 screening venues are excellent for film goers, the largest holding 500+ if my memory serves me right.
Of all the multiplexes in Santa Barbara this theater is the only one that is used by The Santa Barbara International Film Festival and during the festival is it used non-​stop. At last years festival I think I spent more time in the Metro 4 than I did in my own home.
When I had my first film in SBIFF I was given a slot at the Metro 4 and was so happy that happened. Being my first film and only the second time it was shown publicly, I was slightly nervous. Before the screening I got to talking with the projectionist and he was really kind and helpful. It put me at ease to know my film was in good hands.
Location-​wise, The Metro 4 is an excellent place for «Dinner and a Movie». It’s in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara so it truly is ideal for dinner, a movie and maybe some drinks afterwards. My recommendation would be Dargan’s Irish Pub just a few doors down (for dinner before or drinks after, take you pick!). Also nearby are Rockin’ Yogurt and Yogurtland if you feel like something cold and smooth after all the popcorn! Speaking of popcorn. OH BOY. It is always so good there. Don’t be afraid to ask for some extra butter and if you get a large (with a free refill) you’ll still have some in your hands when you’re walking State St. two hours later.
Quick tips:
1. The main restrooms at this are upstairs and it’s kind of a tight fit but there are special needs restrooms in the lobby.
2. Each theater has a back exit that can give you quick access to the closest parking structure.

Living in L.A., I’ve become somewhat accustomed to the Arclights of the world. Metro 4 doesn’t have the amenities of a large theater, but I’m happy to say that despite its humble exterior, the theater boasts stadium seating and a relatively nice inside.
I also appreciate that the theater’s matinée prices extend until 6 o’clock and that the regular prices aren’t terribly high to begin with. I also love that Metro 4 still prints real tickets. I hate getting my movie tickets on receipt paper.

Cute little theater on State Street. Was a little messy in the lobby/​bathrooms, the seats were fine. Decent crowd without being crowded.