Reviewed by Lamar Kukuk
2/2/08
After seeing the 3D version
of Beowulf last year, it became pretty clear
to me that Digital 3D is The Coming Thing of modern moviegoing. As
more and more locations become wired to carry events like this weekend's
Miley Cirus concert (much as I shudder at the thought of being at one of
THOSE screenings), we march closer to the 2009 releases of the first major
3D-only fictional features: PDI's Monsters vs. Aliens and
James Cameron's Avatar. In the meantime, we've reached another
milestone: the first live-action digital 3D feature. U2
3D is a concert movie, and a very good one. But it also teases
with the amazing potential of the digital 3D format (in this case, care
of a company called 3ality). Watching the movie alone is a treat:
that it comes complete with the music and showmanship of one of the world's
greatest rock bands is just icing on the cake.
Shot at 9 different Latin
American concerts but seeming to occur entirely in Buenos Aires, the concert
consists of “Vertigo”, “Beautiful Day”, “New Year's Day”, “Sometimes You
Can't Make it On Your Own”, “Love and Peace or Else”, “Sunday Bloody Sunday”,
“Bullet the Blue Sky”, “Miss Sarajevo”, “Pride (In the Name of Love)”,
“Where the Streets Have No Name” and “One”, followed by an encore of “The
Fly” and “With or Without You”. “Yahweh” is performed over the end
credits. A few pro-social messages (such as a multi-media reading
of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights) are sprinkled throughout.
From the moment the film
begins, with opening credits that seem ready to press you back against
your seat, it's clear we're in for something new and exciting: just
a few lines into “Vertigo”, lead singer Bono makes eye contact with the
camera and seems to be staring you down no more than a foot away.
The crowd is a character all its' own: more to the point, it's tens
of thousands of individual characters, because each audience member somehow
sits distinctly apart from the rest, able to wave their hands directly
into our faces and otherwise demand to be seen as people rather than the
cheering mass we expect to see in a typical concert movie. Mullen
Jr.'s drum set is a visual marvel all its' own in the way it seems that
we could reach out, grab it, turn it around and inspect it from all angles.
This IS 3D, so a few thrusts of Clayton and The Edge's guitars into our
faces are inevitable. Directors Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington
play some entertaining games with the visuals from the massive screens
behind the band, establishing an invisible pane between us and the concert
onto which they're occasionally projected (they go a little overboard with
this effect during “The Fly”, but it's otherwise trippy fun).
Even without the 3D (not
that you're ever likely to see it that way: no 2D exhibition or home
video release is planned), the concert just flat-out rocks. U2 consistently
amazes me with their ability to be among the Biggest Rock Stars in the
World without falling victim to the headline-making craziness that seems
to afflict just about everyone else in their position, and the movie strongly
suggests one big reason for that is that these guys still LOVE to play.
And the crowd certainly loves to hear them, contributing to a relentless
energy that seems ready to explode when they break out Old School hits
like “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Pride (In the Name of Love)”. I
really liked the staging of “Love and Peace or Else”, with band members
scattered around the arena and Bono and Mullen Jr. staging a vocal/drums
staredown. If there's one song I wish had been performed better,
it's “One”, although I've seen the band do it on TV several times over
the years and they do tend to soak in it more than actually play it, so
I wasn't surprised.
Obviously, it's hard to imagine
anyone really enjoying U2 3D if they don't like the band, although
if you're neutral or not all that familiar with them, you should give it
a shot. It's a great, high-energy concert movie and a fun introduction
to technology that looms large over our future moviegoing experience.
And for U2 fans, it's a pure cinematic treat. |
