New movie Empire of Light - which was shot on the Kent coast - has premiered at the London Film Festival today, to largely poor reviews.

Viewers flooded to Twitter to share their opinions as they left the cinema, and the response was not particularly positive.

The movie sparked excitement among Margate residents as they spotted stars such as Olivia Colman and Colin Firth during filming back in February.

The plot follows two lovers working at a cinema in the 1980s, with many scenes shot at Dreamland.

Film-lovers flocked to London to be among the first to see Empire of Light today - but many have been left feeling let down.

One Twitter user @RobbieJJones said he was "so disappointed that the film as a whole is such a mess", but "Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward are both fantastic".

The actors' talents seems to be a common theme in reviews of the picture, with most praising their skills.

However one critic slammed the film as the "most tonally confused film I’ve seen this year".

Twitter user @kehenulo called it "a complete hodgepodge of half-baked social issues, emotions and intentions wrapped in the thinly vein concept of cinema magic".

They added: "I thought we were done with these type of mid-2000s movies?"

Confusion was another repeated point, with @Jamiereviews enjoying the film's sweet moments, but revealing that "as a whole it feels quite unfocused and not sure as to what its primary theme is".

In spite of that, some reviews were extremely positive, like the opinion of critic @spopcornchat, who did admit: "I think I'm in the minority".

"From the atmosphere, the score and of course the performances - I was captivated," they added.

Twitter user @KestonTheo applauded the "very sweet film from Mendes about a warm blossoming relationship between two cinema workers" and also nodded to Colman's execptional acting.

The nostalgic feel the movie brings being set in the 80s is also commented on, with @MovieEvangelist sharing how the film felt "weirdly haunted".

"Much of it filmed at Dreamland in Margate, one of the cinemas of my childhood," they added. "Remembering being stood in the queue for Con Air, now that foyer looks like a building site. Heartbreaking."

During filming, Empire of Light sparked a row between Thanet District Council and residents, after the strings of vibrant lights used in the shooting that were gifted to the town, were then taken down.

The movie is due to be released to the general public on January 23, 2023.

It has a rating of 6.2 out of 10 on IMDb, 60% on Metacritic and 49% on Rotten Tomatoes.