A BULLET shot past my ear.

A villain who was threatening to end my life punched me in the back during a hair-raising fight.

And I was slammed into my seat as my car careered off the road and crashed during a high-speed car chase.

Not literally, of course, but this is what I experienced as I watched the action comedy Baby Driver at the new 4DX screen at Cineworld, in Basildon’s Festival Leisure Park.

4DX boasts high-tech motion seats and special effects throughout a film, such as wind, fog, snow, lightning, bubbles, water, and scents to stimulate all five senses.

The technology works for both 2D and 3D films, in perfect timing with the action on screen.

I was dubious when I first walked in, expecting a seat to vibrate and rumble occasionally - but it really is so much more.

The motion you experience is synchronised exactly to the action portrayed on screen. So as bullets are fired, you can feel them whizz past your face.

I even smelt the burning rubber of tyres and felt the breeze from an open car window as cars raced on the screen.

No action film is complete without 4DX anymore and it is certainly something to be experienced.

Don’t fear that you will be constantly flung around in your seat for two or so hours, the motion kicks in at certain pivotal points and even sometimes takes you by surprise.

However, I’d recommend not taking a huge bag of popcorn, in case you are suddenly dropped down a stairwell or flung round a corner.

Phil Peirce, general manager at Cineworld Basildon, said the branch is the tenth in the country to welcome the new technology.

He said: “4DX technology uses special effects to stimulate all five senses and offer an action-packed cinematic experience like no other.

“Audiences will no longer just watch the action but feel it too, as their chairs shake beneath them, rain falls on them and the smells of burning car tyres in a movie car chase fill the cinema screen room.

“More than 500,000 people have tried the 4DX experience with Cineworld since opening the first screen in 2015 - a success we are particularly proud of - so we’re absolutely thrilled to be opening a 4DX in Basildon.

“Boasting an impressive 18 screens, Basildon is one of the UK’s busiest and most successful cinemas, so we’re delighted to toast that achievement by bringing pioneering 4DX technology to the Essex region for the first time.

“As only the tenth Cineworld cinema to host the cinematic technology - which is exclusive to us in the UK - Basildon cinema-goers will be in for a treat when they visit. We cannot wait to see their reactions when they try it out.”

Basildon is currently showing Transformers: The Last Knight in the 4DX screen, with films including Spider-Man: Homecoming and War For The Planet Of The Apes, Despicable Me 3 and Baby Driver coming over the next few weeks.

Tickets for the 4DX films start at £16.70 for adults and £13.70 for children. Discounts are available for My Cineworld members.

Visit cineworld.co.uk/4dx for details.