A few hours ago I had the privilege of visiting the theater to see the 3D performance of U2. Wow! Was it ever worth the paltry eleven dollars to see!

U2 is one of those bands I have long been a fan of. Their music is so unique and mature, even their earlier stuff has a maturity that stands out today. I am amazed by how relevant their music remains decades after many of the songs were first released. If anything they are more relevant today. And on top of that they have all aged really well. The bastards. 😉

While I am not an enormous fan of mixing politics with music (or politics with anything for that matter), I find it easier to digest U2’s message knowing the band hails from a country with a history of political unrest and violence that makes anything that has went on in the United States in the last several decades seem like child’s play. And there are certainly messages to be had in this film if one wants them. However the performance is so good that you can just sit back and allow the purity of the music to wash over you. This is good stuff.

I was curious as to how the whole concert would unfold in the 3 dimensional format. Prior to the film we were treated to 3D trailers for a few films including a 3D teaser for Coraline (can’t wait!) and a 3D trailer for an animated film called Fly Me To The Moon that had me ooing and ahhing at the wonder of three dimensional technology. Once the film started I was able to marvel at the possibilities of three dimensional filming on non-animated features. They did a great job giving you as an audience member a view that you would not be able to duplicate in any seat in a live performance. There was nothing cheesy or heavy handed about the 3D effects. U2 simply performed an exceptional concert and the film makers utilized multiple cameras and the existing technology to give unbelievable depth and dimension to the performance. One of my favorite shots involved the drummer being out on a platform with the audience with Bono singing in the background and audience members in the foreground. Not only was it 3 dimensional, but the shot was also set up in a layered manner that can only be adequately described by saying ‘see this film’. It was very interesting to see angles in which you appeared to be directly behind audience members in front of you, viewing the concert through their cameras and cell phones. So cool.

However the greatest joy of seeing a film like this is the music. U2 played a number of old favorites and recent hits. It is always a pleasure to see a group whose live performance is as melodic and polished as their recorded sessions and U2 is certainly one of those bands. I enjoyed watching the guitarist change guitars for every single song–it must take a truck just to haul all of his guitars–and I found the whole experience to be both a trip down memory lane and a relevant presentation for the times in which we live. My only real complaint about the show was that it was all over way too quickly. Time does indeed fly when you are having fun.

If you have the opportunity to catch this film in the theater to partake of the 3D experience I highly recommend it.