USAToday
Edna Gundersen
From Woodstock to The Last Waltz to Neil Young: Heart of Gold, concert films historically leave viewers tingling but with a regretful twinge that they've missed the party and settled for a souvenir snapshot.
U2 3D (* * * * out of four) in many ways delivers an experience that's even better than the real thing. It brings U2's dazzling rock spectacle to the multiplex with VIP comforts, all-access viewpoints and telescopic close-ups.
Shot in early 2006 on the fourth leg of U2's Vertigo tour, the film condenses and explodes the Irish quartet's potent show into a rapturous virtual reality ride of 5.1 surround sound, stunt-pilot camera work and judiciously applied 3-D effects.
For this first live-action digital 3-D film, crews shot five stadium shows in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina, plus a cameras-only performance staged before the Buenos Aires dates. More than 100 hours of footage were distilled into a seamless 14-song powerhouse of sight and sound.
Avoiding the cheese of Michael Jackson's Captain EO, U2 3D's 3-D imagery creates startling depth and crispness, immersing the viewer in Vertigo's flavor and fervor rather than distracting with gimmickry or inducing lower-case vertigo.
Giant screens beam kaleidoscopic patterns and saturated colors while cyclopean-scale Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. whip up delirium in the stadium crowds.
It's U2 writ XXL, not just visually and sonically but emotionally and theatrically. In keeping with the band's tech-savvy tours, high-def never overwhelms high drama, nor does the razzle-dazzle drain the ritual of its intimacy or fraternal spirit. Cinematic science serves the songs, elevating the visceral kick of Vertigo, the ecstatic buzz of Beautiful Day and the poignancy of One and With or Without You. Bono's outstretched arm, which seems to reach the theater's sixth row, pulls us into the pathos of Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own and the communal vibe of Love and Peace or Else, a raucous highlight further enhanced by animation. The audience adulation and undulation during Pride (In the Name of Love) are contagious, and if there's a disconnect in U2 3D, it's the irresistible urge to stand, cheer and sing along, actions that might irk patrons less inclined to shake their Jujubes.
Of course, U2's audio-visual marvel wouldn't be nearly as intoxicating without an impassioned performance of indestructible songs. Miss Sarajevo, low on 3-D rattle and hum but ignited by Bono's operatic turn, is a tour de force. In that regard, U2 3D has the power to transport and excite even those fans who never open their eyes.
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