When I heard U2 was coming out with another movie, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. I actually enjoyed (and have owned for many years) a copy of Rattle and Hum, but I have long felt that the this era marks the closest they have come to jumping the shark. The more I heard about it, though, the more excited I became. I became especially intrigued when I heard it was filmed in IMAX 3D.
So, today was finally the day we got to see it for ourselves. Lauren and I and our oldest daughter (her first U2 concert) went to see U23D tonight. Simply put, it was incredible. Lauren and I were able to go to this concert when they came through St. Louis and we had a discussion afterwards which (the concert or the movie) was better. The live concert won, but only with certain concessions.
So, first the concessions. Watching the movie was like watching the concert in high definition HD (or HD squared). The detail and camera work was, for the most part, incredible. When Lauren and I were at the concert, we were in the stadium's upper level, watching everything mostly on the jumbo-screen behind the band. The movie allowed us to see Bono's face as he sang (there were several times when the 3D effect made it like you could almost reach out and touch him). We could watch the Edge and Adam as they tore through a riff (and actually see clearly the their fingers). And, a nice treat, we could actually see Larry (there were several extended above head shots of Larry as he worked the drums).
The camera spent most of the time focused on the band, but they also threw in shots of the band's view of the crowd. Wow. There was one scene where the crowd was bobbing up and down in unison and it really was like a "sea of humanity" as wave after wave of motion rippled through.
The movie also made tasteful use of the 3D effect to show us what was happening on the screen behind the band. There was only one part in the movie where I thought they took it too far (during the band's encore). The flood of 3D effects was a bit overpowering. And finally, as one movie goer said to his family as we walked out, we just got $600 tickets for $12 each.
So, why was the concert better? Well, first of all it was live. You can't beat the experience of actually being there. The movie audience applauded at the end of the movie, but sat inert for the most part during the performance. At a concert you feel the energy of that many people together to enjoy the experience together. Also, the music just wasn't as loud. I didn't feel it in my chest like I do at the stadium (now, the flip side is that I could hear the details much better, and understand Bono when he said things softly).
So, was it better than the real thing? Almost, but not quite, but it was definitely worth the $12 admission.
So, today was finally the day we got to see it for ourselves. Lauren and I and our oldest daughter (her first U2 concert) went to see U23D tonight. Simply put, it was incredible. Lauren and I were able to go to this concert when they came through St. Louis and we had a discussion afterwards which (the concert or the movie) was better. The live concert won, but only with certain concessions.
So, first the concessions. Watching the movie was like watching the concert in high definition HD (or HD squared). The detail and camera work was, for the most part, incredible. When Lauren and I were at the concert, we were in the stadium's upper level, watching everything mostly on the jumbo-screen behind the band. The movie allowed us to see Bono's face as he sang (there were several times when the 3D effect made it like you could almost reach out and touch him). We could watch the Edge and Adam as they tore through a riff (and actually see clearly the their fingers). And, a nice treat, we could actually see Larry (there were several extended above head shots of Larry as he worked the drums).
The camera spent most of the time focused on the band, but they also threw in shots of the band's view of the crowd. Wow. There was one scene where the crowd was bobbing up and down in unison and it really was like a "sea of humanity" as wave after wave of motion rippled through.
The movie also made tasteful use of the 3D effect to show us what was happening on the screen behind the band. There was only one part in the movie where I thought they took it too far (during the band's encore). The flood of 3D effects was a bit overpowering. And finally, as one movie goer said to his family as we walked out, we just got $600 tickets for $12 each.
So, why was the concert better? Well, first of all it was live. You can't beat the experience of actually being there. The movie audience applauded at the end of the movie, but sat inert for the most part during the performance. At a concert you feel the energy of that many people together to enjoy the experience together. Also, the music just wasn't as loud. I didn't feel it in my chest like I do at the stadium (now, the flip side is that I could hear the details much better, and understand Bono when he said things softly).
So, was it better than the real thing? Almost, but not quite, but it was definitely worth the $12 admission.
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