U2 3D

BananaWho has seen the future, friends, and it is in 3D. The aptly named U2 3D is the first ever live-action movie shot in digital 3D imaging—that means that if you haven’t seen it, you likely have never seen this technology before. Listen closely—digital 3D imaging is the future of the entertainment industry. And this is no Polar Express cardboard-glasses headache generator—everyone is issued a $90 pair of glass polarized viewing goggles, so not only is the audience engaging in mutual absurdity (which is clear when you turn around and see the whole audience bespectacled. Yes, that’s Woody Harrelson) but it will stir up images of the future where the sale of individual 3D goggles is a competitive industry. Admittedly, U2 3D is more about showcasing the development of digital 3D imaging than about filmmaking, but the developers at 3ality Digital were right to use the concert movie format as the technology’s launch pad. The film is cut together from U2’s South American “Vertigo” tour, whose faraway locations add a level of gratuitous exoticism to the show and plays to the third dimension’s advantage. U2 performed at soccer stadiums that fit upwards of 100,000 people on a stage featuring towering LED curtains and islands swamped in seas of people—when seen in 3D, these images are near overwhelming. The film is quite successful at simulating the experience of being at a U2 show, and all of the sensory stimulation casts a euphoric spell, dazzling audiences into submission. Even if some of the ploys they use in the concert border on maudlin, everyone can use a dose of peace and love which U2 dishes up in heaping spoonfuls. The technology is truly amazing, and though it is a novelty, it is one that doesn’t wear off throughout the course of the film, but continues to add a new dimension to the cinematic experience.

Director: Catherine Owens, Mark Pellington