U23D: Movie Review
On a scale of 1 to 10, I’m probably in the nine range as a U2 fan goes. I own all the CDs and U2 holds probably 35 of the top 50 songs played on my ipod. I’m a member of the U2 fan club. It borders on obsession, I know. So, with all that being said, I saw the new concert movie by U2 last night (on the first night it opened, of course) at the late show. Here’s what I thought of it.
Synopsis: U2 has always released concert videos. This one is different in two regards. First, it is a compilation of several different concerts filmed in South America during the Vertigo Tour last year. Second, it was filmed entirely in 3D. The film lasts for approximately 90 minutes and isn’t a full concert. Many of your favorite U2 songs don’t make an appearance. The ones I can recall off the top of my head are: New Year’s Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday, With or Without You, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, Bullet the Blue Sky, The Fly, One, Beautiful Day, Miss Sarajevo (with Bono singing the opera parts as well), Vertigo, Love and Peace, Yahweh, and Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own. The combination of songs were more thematic than anything.
The Technology: Words simply cannot describe this experience. You wear sunglasses during the movie (not the cheap cardboard things.) I have absolutely no idea how it works, I just know that it is almost better than real life. After a few minutes, you really forget you’re watching a movie and feel like you’re there. Once there was a shot of someone throwing water and I thought it was the person in front of me, but it was on the screen. For the first song of the encore (The Fly), there was a visual with words playing at the same time that looked like the letters were falling all over the place. Sometimes they framed shots were the band intentionally played the 3D angle (Adam Clayton spearing you with his bass, Bono reaching out to the camera, etc.) The technology made this a truly amazing experience.
The Message: U2 is certainly known for both its unashamed endorsement of Christianity and its political message for human rights. While Bono doesn’t do any talking during the movie (thankfully), their religious/political message comes through loud and clear. During the song Love and Peace, Bono wears a headband that says “Coexist” with the symbols of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. During the introduction, he says, “Muslims, Jews, Christians–it’s all true–we’re all children of Abraham.” Now my brother and I interpreted this different. I thought he was saying that the true statement was that we’re all children of Abraham (which is true). My brother thought he was saying that all the religious were true. Maybe he was saying both, but I hope not. One other particularly moving song was “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own.” The song is dedicated to Bono’s father and the images of him reaching out to hug his father who isn’t there is really emotional. By the way, don’t leave when the credits start playing. The closing song, Yahweh, is the last song and they sing it with just acoustic guitar, which is much better than the album version.
The Experience: If you are even a casual U2 fan, this movie will be a really great experience. You’ll recognize most of the songs and be wowed. If you are a technology fan, this will be a really great experience. The film is well shot with very interesting angles. I dont’ see how anyone else can make a 2D concert movie after this. Overall, a really amazing experience with the world’s most popular band that has an incredibly positive impact on our world. Also, the cost of $12 is way cheaper than a concert ticket. (My only complaint is that the sounds wasn’t loud enough. If I’m at a concert, I don’t want to be able to hear the people next to me talking.) I’m sure that I’ll see it again with my son, who is also a big fan. This movie may break my record of seeing a movie in a theater (I saw Saving Private Ryan three times).
Movie Rating: 4 Stars (see sidebar for rating formula)
I just went to see this movie last night. I’ve always been a huge fan of U2 and it’s mostly all that I listen to. For instance I’m listening to With or Without You right now. But for anybody wondering whether they should go to this movie or not… GO! This is THE best movie. It is better than any concert you could ever go to. To see Bono crawling blindfolded on the strip or the Edge evoking the beautiful sounds from his guitar. The experience is absolutely mind-blowing. A definite must see! and as was said. By this guys ratings, 4 stars. Definitely.
I should add my two cents. I’m not as hardcore of a fan as my brother, but I do really like U2. I like their music from the 80’s and 2000’s, but the stuff from the 90’s I don’t care for all that much.
That being said, I would rate the movie 10 out of 10. Here’s why:
1. The technology is just unbelievable.
2. U2’s music is really good.
3. It’s rated G – what I really appreciate about U2 is that they live upstanding lives and their music is clean. There’s nothing offensive in this movie.
Don is right – we interpreted Bono’s “headband” thing differently. Give the context of the song within the film, and U2’s general concern for peace, etc. he is probably correct.
The coolest thing about the theatre where we saw the movie is that I got to watch it while eating a burger and fries. How cool is that!