No Time To Die: How Cineworld makes you a ViP – and not just when James Bond is in town

The red carpet was out, there were special vodka martinis at the ready, and I decided to treat my dad to the sort of cinema experience that I know he’d probably never do on his own.

You see Cineworld’s ViP screens are – as the name suggests – a bit special.

It’s not just the vast menu, or the reclining chairs, or the separate section of the cinema. It’s about the entire cinema-going experience when you pay out that bit extra for it.

ViP is more expensive, of course. At £31 you’re paying just over £20 more than if you were to buy a normal 2D ticket when you head down to Centertainment – but, in my view anyway, you certainly get bang for your buck.

I’d say there were four courses, but it feels like more than that. Because on arrival on Thursday night we were met with a soup table, a pizza table, a choice of pepperoni pasta or ratatouille, and a dessert table with doughnuts, millionaire shortbread and much more.

And that’s before we got to the nachos, hotdogs, popcorn and drinks that we were invited to take in and enjoy while we watched Bond jump off bridges, fight off the bad guys and… Well, I won’t ruin the ending.

But what I will say is that No Time To Die absolutely lives up to hype. The casting is great, the storyline is brilliant, Rami Malek makes a great villain. And to watch it while reclined, eating a chocolate brownie, it made me enjoy it even more.

Cineworld’s ViP isn’t something you’re going to do every time you go to the cinema, but it’s not meant to be. It’s meant for an evening out rather than a quick flick – it’s meant for special films, special occasions. And, for me at least, Daniel Craig’s last hurrah as 007 is exactly that.