LAP OF LUXURY: The Tent in the Garden at Four Seasons Doha is an ideal setting for movie-watching experience.
By Umer Nangiana
If the purpose was to maintain the World Cup frenzy on a matchless day, The Italian Job did the job for them. At Four Seasons hotel’s exclusively designed Tent in the Garden, the 2003 action thriller once again delivered to ensure that entertainment does not cease on a day when the World Cup madness took a break at the end of the first round last Friday.
The blockbuster of its time featuring Hollywood heavyweights Mark Wahlberg, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron besides the ‘Mini Coopers’, attracted a large audience to the tent, keeping it right in the business on an otherwise ‘cold’ day.
The ambience inside the lounge was equally electric. The view of artistically illuminated plush just across the glass wall goes perfectly well with aesthetically arranged seating in the air-conditioned tent housing big screens comfortably placed from all the right angles.
After a long, hot and humid day, this is an ideal evening environment to retire in and make the best of your leisure time. You have the option to take more comfortable and cozy front sofas or move on to the elevated chairs in the rear for a more energised viewing.
For the football matches and now the Ramadan experience, special spaces reserved inside the tents can be hired by groups. The overall combination makes the watching experience a pleasure.
And when it is something like the Italian Job on offer; just get there, grab your chair and enjoy. The lounge service offers a selection of beverages and food to choose from. The setting is ideal for a different yet luxury movie-watching experience.
Acoustics need a special mention. You do not feel low on sound quality sitting in any corner of the lounge. It makes you literally feel the thrill in a chase scene when a trio of Mini Cooper S class snake through underground tunnels after making away with $27mn worth of gold. This American remake of the 1969 British crime comedy of the same name saw Wahlberg and Statham in one of their best performances.
Puffing shisha and enjoying food available at the lounge, the audience at the tent remained fully absorbed in the thrilling action sequences. The excitement was palpable when Charlie (Wahlberg), Stella (Theron) and others gang up with handsome Rob (Statham) and devise a plan to hijack gold midway when Steve (Edward Norton), the villain, is transiting it.
The entire sequence was captivating. On the scheduled day, Steve is in the helicopter monitoring the load-up, and Rob is with Left Ear, another gang member, in front of Steve’s mansion waiting for the truck. They discover that there is not one but three armoured trucks.
Napster, a computer genius at the train station with his equipment hacks into the traffic system to monitor the trucks. He identifies the right truck and disables the security grid of the traffic system, effectively giving him control, and creates a huge traffic jam to lead the truck at the preplanned route.
On the other side, Rob, Charlie and Stella in the Mini Coopers jump into a subway tunnel. As the truck arrives above them, a portion of the avenue is blown up and it falls below right into the tunnel. Steve, in his helicopter monitoring the truck, orders his security guards on bikes to follow into the subway.
The climax scene shows Charlie, Rob and Stella driving their Minis out of the tunnel out on the streets being chased by the bikers. In the end, Charlie takes on Steve and gets him captured by a rival Ukrainian gang long on a look out for him to avenge the murder of one of their members.
The movie left opening for a sequel, however, it was yet to be announced. In its time, the movie was a highest-grossing film produced by Paramount in 2003.
The Tent in the Garden was available for football matches till last week and now hosts Ramadan celebrations.