Review of Luna Drive-in Cinema at Bluewater Shopping Centre

There's a chill in the air, you're all wrapped up warm, surrounded by twinkling lights... while you watch Bruce Willis violently kill a bunch of terrorists on a December evening.

All of these things to me mean that Christmas has officially begun.

What a perfect way to kick off the holiday season with Die Hard, I thought, as I drove into Bluewater, one of four venues who are hosting Luna Cinema's Drive-in Winter Cinema.

They have a range of festive films to watch this year, including Elf, Home Alone and Love Actually – all shown on the big screen in the shopping centre's upper outdoor car park.

Going to a drive-in cinema has always been on my bucket list, ever since watching those typical American 1960s films, where people would huddle up on the back of a pick-up truck with some 'hot cocoa' and a red tartan blanket.

That wouldn't be the case in my little red Fiat, but nevertheless, this was a real Christmas treat.

Doors opened at 6.45pm, with the film starting at 7.30pm.

We arrived nice and early, just before 6.40pm, and noticed a queue had already started to form.

There are two different tickets available to pre-book, one for a "standard car" and the other for a "large car".

Both cost the exact same, except larger cars, which include SUVs and people carriers, are slotted to go in further back.

After being handed quite a hefty black box through my window by a member of staff, we then drove round to the screen.

I recommend getting there when the doors open if you want to get a good spot, as a marshal will direct you to fill up the front spaces first come, first served.

We managed to get very lucky, and bagged the middle of the front row.

What intrigued me the most as I was setting up, was the heavy yet mysterious black box.

Instead of having to tune my car's radio (it has been so long that I have forgotten how to do anyway), the wireless contraption is already synced up to the film and ready to play once it starts.

All you had to do was pop it on the dash, and adjust the volume to your liking.

It also had a touch screen which gave a low-down on the runtime and synopsis of the movie.

Ordering was very easy to do – scan the QR code on the screen and it takes you to a menu selection – where you could choose from hot and cold drinks, popcorn, as well as pasta and Dutch pancakes.

We went for a cup of tea, a hot chocolate and two portions of Dutch pancakes, with three toppings – bananas, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

The drinks were £2.50 each and the desserts were £5, bringing the total to around £15.

I received a text when the order was ready, with the drinks taking less than two minutes to ping through and the pancakes taking another 20 minutes.

However, I couldn't imagine what someone would have done if they didn't have a signal.

Now don't get me started on whether this great 1988 classic is or isn't a Christmas film.

It's a historic and heated debate that we force upon ourselves every year, causing family arguments that hold no promise of a resolution.

But if you remove all the terrorists, action and bloodshed, it is simply about an NYPD cop, called John McClane (played by the legendary Bruce Willis) who has travelled home for the festive period to see his family.

Don't forget he goes to see his estranged wife, Holly Gennaro (played by Bonnie Bedelia) at a Christmas party.

I'll leave it to you to make up your own decision.

Due to reading Luna Cinema's FAQs on the website beforehand, I knew that all engines had to be turned off during the film.

With the weather being a very nippy -2C, I made sure to wrap up warm, as well as taking some festive themed blankets along too.

The only issue we had because of this, was that my car windows kept steaming up, resulting in a blurry viewing experience.

This was fixed by turning on the car briefly and giving it a quick blast of warm air, which I spotted a few other drivers doing too.

Portaloos were provided to the right of the car park and were only a short walk away.

Overall I really liked the novelty of the drive-in – it was great that the tickets were by car, as for a family of five, this could come to around £6.50 per person – cheaper than the average cinema ticket!

I also had a terrible cough at the time, which I would usually have received dirty looks in a conventional cinema, but as I was in my own car, I could do it to my heart's content without feeling guilty. A win-win.

All that's left to say is..."Welcome to the party, pal!"

Tickets start at £32.50 for up to five people and to see a full list of films, click here.

The event runs until Thursday, December 22.