| Overall Grade: |
B |
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| Story: |
N/A |
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| Acting: |
N/A |
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| Direction: |
B |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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Devoted U2 fans will be in heaven, but...
by Beach Guy (movies profile)
Mar 1, 2008
5
of
7 people found this review helpful
First, it's important to note that if you're a devoted U2 fan, why haven't you already run, biked, boated or hitchhiked to see this movie?!? If I were such a fan, I have no doubt I'd have been in ecstasy throughout this concert film. Which brings me to my first point for the rest of us--lesser or non-fans of U2: this is ONLY a concert film, in that there is no backstage material, no interviews with U2 members or fans, nothing. You literally see a concert from beginning to end, and that's it. While lead singer Bono can be passionate and animated at times, overall the 4 members of the band (that's right--4 members and absolutely no back-up singers, no added musicians at all for this tour) fit the stoic macho male stereotype a bit too well, and therefore get a bit boring to watch for 90 minutes. You find yourself wondering if The Edge ("The Edge?" "Bono?"--how did these guys come up with these stage names?) will ever smile or show any passion for his rabid fans--thousands of whom are at his feet in this concert (in Argentina) and showing him and the other band members absolute adulation. He does eventually grin a bit, but it's a rare moment in a long film. To be fair, I went to see U2 3D as much for the technology on display as the content (I have bought a couple of U2 albums over the years and like some of their songs, but am definitely not a devoted fan). I had read in a Consumer Reports Magazine article that U2 3D was the very latest example of digital and 3D filmmaking that we as moviegoers could expect down the road--this is supposedly the latest version of the digital 3D process that is about to explode in use for feature films as well. I wanted to see what the future holds and at what stage of maturity the technology was in. On that subject I can say, even though I saw the film on a HUGE IMAX screen (6 stories tall) somehow Bono and company seemed diminished by the 3D process, somewhat resembling old ViewMaster 3D cut-outs rather than three-dimensional flesh and blood humans. The only truly impressive moment for me came when the camera flew out over the crowd of thousands of fans on the arena's main floor, jumping up and down in unison to the beat of one of U2's more upbeat songs, giving me a moment of giddy vertigo at the sight of the undulating sea of bodies below. Overall, I definitely recommend the film for U2 fans and concert film fans, but I have a feeling a general audience would mostly be bored by this film once the novelty of the 3D experience and the booming sound system wears off, probably about 20 minutes into the 90 minute film... |
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