U2 3D (2008)

O Masterpiece
X Excellent
O Rental
O OK
O Mediocrity
O Avoid

Review by Jason Pyles / March 6, 2008

After surviving the Great Depression, the movies had a booming decade, often referred to as “The Golden Age,” or the 1940s. (In fact, 1946 is still the best box-office year in cinematic history.) But by the time the 1950s arrived, another magical medium had already begun to capture America’s attention. That medium was television.

What does this have to do with Bono? Don’t worry. He’ll intersect with this discussion, all in good time. The big screen had to compete with its mini-screened nemesis, so Hollywood devised several novelty schemes to win back and attract audiences, such as “Smell-o-vision” and “Odor-rama,” which dispersed odors into theaters to correspond with the onscreen depictions.

And there were other innovations, some remain, some don’t: Cinerama, Panavision and Cinemascope, Vistavision, Psychorama, the production of more color films, the epic blockbuster and, of course, 3-D.

Perhaps the most ingenious but lesser-known gimmick, aside from 3-D, accompanied a movie called “The Tingler” (1959). Vincent Price plays a scientist who makes a chilling discovery: Imbedded within the spine of every one of us is a monstrous organism that feeds and grows rapidly on our fear, hence the shivery tingle up the spine when we’re afraid. And the only way to stop the spinal spook from growing is to scream.

Running with this premise, some theaters installed “Percepto,” which is a hidden buzzer that vibrates in the seats, giving select audience members a tingling sensation. Naturally, screaming erupted within the theaters, making “The Tingler” seem like the scariest movie ever made, not to mention giving it an illusion of reality. This innovative creativity rivals the much simpler brilliance of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984), a horror movie whose monster attacks its victims in their nightmares.

As for 3-D, it remains and lives on today, sort of. It’s a convention whose concept pre-dates the 1950s, all the way back to the year 1600, according to Louis Giannetti and Scott Eyman, authors of “Flashback: A Brief History of Film.” Ever since movies like “Bwana Devil” (1952), we’ve had those funny glasses. Yes, Giannetti and Eyman tell us that between 1953 and 1954, about 38 3-D movies were released, and they were all terrible. Why? Despite the movies’ creative aim, they got lazy. The film-history authors note: “The possibility of creating the illusion of objects reaching out of the screen toward the audience proved too great a temptation for unimaginative filmmakers. In short order, arrows, hatchets, bosoms, anything that could be thrown or thrust at the camera, was.”

And so it has been ever since. Modern-day 3-D movies, such as “Beowulf” (2007), still milk the throw-things-at-the-audience trick. Indeed, that has become the point of 3-D films. But at last we have “U2 3D,” a concert film (or filmed concerts) that doesn’t solely lean on the protrusion novelty. Sure, here and there, microphone stands and guitar necks take a swipe at us, but who could altogether resist that temptation?

“U2 3D” is an excellent experience for mild fans of music, concerts or U2. And for U2 fanatics, the film is a must-see and falls short of nothing less than a masterpiece. Alas, I find myself in the former category, however, as I am only a mild fan of U2.

What makes “U2 3D” different from other filmed concerts is that it employs its three-dimensional appearance to make us not only feel like we have the best, moving seats in the house, but it literally seems like we’re on the stage with the band members. Though this may sound obvious, our perspective appears to be that of the camera personnel on the cranes (not the camera itself). While it’s true that we typically identify with the camera as a third-person spectator (except during subjective point-of-view shots), the camera’s vantage point is usually only two-dimensional, a restriction we accept in return for our fly-on-the-wall perspective. But since we see the concert in our typical three-dimensional perception, we identify with the camera operators, not the cameras.

Seamlessly assembled from live footage of six different concerts in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and two in Australia, “U2 3D” brings the band’s global “Vertigo Tour” to our laps. Supposedly, “U2 3D” has the most 3-D cameras ever used on a single film. And if that’s the case, it’s good that the scenery isn’t littered with cameras.

The film consists of brief, pre-concert moments where we see ecstatic fans entering the arena, rushing to their seats. Then we enjoy an impressive set list of 15 songs (if I counted correctly), including hits like “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “Vertigo,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Bullet the Blue Sky,” and of course, “With or Without You,” among others. As the credits roll, we hear a live version of “Yahweh,” which is also from the concert. Stay for the end credits, because there’s a 3-D stroll into a cityscape roughly drawn with yellow lines. Despite its simplicity, it’s incredible.

“U2 3D” has a modest runtime of only 85 minutes, but it’s the perfect length for our hard-working eyes. Some people say the 3-D glasses give them a headache after a while; but remember, you can watch the film without them. It’s just two-dimensional, that’s all.

The best shots are those of the pulsating, 3-D crowd; it looks like a living carpet or an ocean flowing with people. We see a sea of glowing cell phones that look like a firefly ballet. With astonishing clarity, we also see thousands of waving stick figures’ arms in the foreground, as the band plays on in the background. I also especially enjoyed the overhead shots of Larry Mullen Jr. playing his drum set. It truly seems like you could reach out and touch the cymbals.

The best effects in “U2 3D” are the cross-fading superimpositions that blend two scenes into the same space and time. The various added animations are also excellent, such as the hovering words and letters that float out toward the audience. At one point Bono draws shapes in the air whose visual forms are supplied by the animators. And though it detracts somewhat from our watching the musical performance, there’s a fireworks-grand-finale-like rainstorm of colorful letters that flood the stage as they cascade down the screen.

The most interesting aspect of “U2 3D” is the discrepancy of experience between the band’s two audiences, the live crowd depicted in the film and the theater audience. Fascinatingly, both crowds see and hear the same band perform the same songs but have very different experiences. Each live crowd member has a stationary vantage point, feels the heat from the cramped-together concert goers, and can smell the smells (good and bad). And the live concert is probably much louder. In the theater, we have cushy seats which are also stationary but our vantage point is always moving, comfortable climate control, etc., etc. So, in many ways, I felt like the weird boy-in-a-bubble while watching the concert, because, even though it seemed like I was at a live concert, I was only at the movies, enjoying the show as a protected and privileged spectator. In fact, oddly, the energy of those crowds and the ringing echoes of those amplifiers have long since dissipated and fallen silent. What a miracle the motion picture is!

The Internet Movie Database’s page for “U2 3D” gives one viewer’s feedback: “chills chills chills.” I wonder if, in addition to the 3-D feature, some theaters have resurrected Percepto again.

On a very critical final note, though I have no particular affinity for “Hannah Montana” or Miley Cyrus’ music, I was willing to review her 3-D “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour,” which is also currently in theaters. But I’ve opted not to. Instead, I’m boycotting it. While most working movie critics can see the concert-movie at free screenings, the poor parents of crazed, young “Hannah Montana” fanatics are obligated to pay exorbitant prices ($15 for a matinee) for a 74-minute show. No thanks.

Whereas, at my local theater, “U2 3D” only plays in the evening and admission is the regular nighttime price, $8 per ticket, plus an extra $2 for the spiffy glasses. It cost $10 total and is worth every penny.

I find it obscene that a flash-in-the-pan, pre-teen, pop-candy concert costs more than seeing U2, a legendary, world-renowned mega-band. Makes you wanna stay home and settle for the small screen.

Directed by Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington
Bono / The Edge / Adam Clayton / Larry Mullen Jr.
Concert 85 min.
MPAA: G

U.S. Release Date: January 23, 2008
Copyright 2008: 253