I went and saw Top Gun at the new Paragon theater "Axis15" screen that opened up in Cary last week (in the new Fenton development), and figured I'd give a review for people who were interested.

The theater's signature screen is a large-format 66ft wide, 4k laser projection screen with Dolby Atmos Immersive Sound dubbed the "Axis15", as it is on a 15° tilt towards the audience. Paragon claims this is the largest screen in the Triangle at 66ft wide, but I believe that still falls short of IMAX in Marbles Kids Museum, which from what I can find is 70ft wide. Maybe the formatting makes it bigger in total area? Not sure. Either way, it's huge. And it's my new favorite place to see big movies.

The good:

Amazing picture and sound

As said above, this screen is massive, but that's not the only good thing going for it. The picture quality is superb and the sound is just as good as IMAX. The 15° tilt of the screen is actually one of the best features, as it means you aren't having to "look down" when you recline in the seats, which brings me to the next best thing about this theater:

The best seats in the area

I've been to many theaters in the Triangle, but these seats are the best I've seen BY FAR. The middle section of the theater is "box seating" where sets of two seats (with a few singles) are "boxed off" from the rest of the row. The partitions are large and allow significantly increased privacy. I couldn't even see anyone sitting beside us or behind us. The seats recline, like most modern theater seating, but they also have SEAT WARMERS. That was probably my wife's favorite thing. No longer will she have to wear a coat into the theater in July.

In-seat ordering for concessions/bar

In-seat ordering can be done any time by scanning a QR code on your seat. Ordering from their app was straight forward.

Reasonable ticket price

I'm unsure if ticket pricing last week was introductory or not, but the price for an evening movie in the box seating was under $11 per ticket- that's cheaper than the Marbles IMAX and MUCH cheaper than the Crossroads IMAX theater.

The bad:

Overpriced bar

The bar was overpriced and the bartenders barely had any idea what they were doing. Don't spend money at the bar.

Mediocre food/concessions selection

The food selection was poor compared to a place like Alamo or Cinebistro. Maybe they plan on expanding their menu in the future? I dunno. Was not impressed.

Small lobby

For a place with a full-service bar and menu, I was surprised at how small the lobby was. Fortunately, it's right off the courtyard in Fenton, so unless it's raining or 100°, there is plenty of room outside to gather and socialize.

"New place" service

Service just seemed to be suffering the typical pains of a "new place": Bartenders, concessions clerks, etc. didn't really seem to know what was going on. They didn't even have a wine/beer list at the bar. No one asked us to show a ticket at any time, either. There were lots of empty seats, people could have just walked on in.... I'm sure this will get better in time.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Issues aside, the main attractions to this theater - the screen, the sound, and the seats - make this one of the best theaters in the area. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes their privacy, comfort, and action movies on a big screen!