U23D (2008)

U2 in IMAX, really? Do I really need to see Bono eight feet tall and coming right me? Not only that but in 3D too? OK, the answer is probably not, but as a hard-core U2 fan I made it to the IMAX as soon as I could.

Does it work? Well, sort of. It is just a few highlights from their Vertigo Tour in Argentina. It lasted for about an hour and 20 minutes. The 3D aspect of it becomes inconsequential after a while as you just get absorb into the show. And what it missing are the long dramatic shots of the band from a far away place, which is so much a part of their character.

So what does work? U2 works. The concert is awesome. Bono’s voice sounds really good. In some of their DVD releases his voice sounds a bit dodgy, but not this time. They make a smart decision of skipping a lot of their hits and going into what they call ‘The Dark side of the heart.’ This is the U2 that makes Axel Rose and Lars from Metallica U2 fans. This is the best part of any U2 show. In songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue sky, and Love and Peace, it is easy to forget it is in 3D.

The problem of putting a live U2 show into a box is the box itself. U2 is essentially a stadium band. The have an ability to connect 55 thousand people and make them feel like some small community. This is done through a mixture of their music and body language. Despite how high tech the bands shows can be, they are always better when they are stripped down. Their body language is sometimes biblical, grand, and dramatic and somehow with that the guy in the noise bleeder seats feels like he is a part of the show.

Another character of a U2 is the Audience, which is really diverse. Even in the IMAX theatre, which was really packed, their were college kids through parents with children. The U2 crowd can sing 5 verses of any U2 song and Bono often asks them to do it.

There is really nothing here that isn’t their latest concert DVD. Still, it is the closest you will get to being at a U2 concert without being at one. At the end of the show, people in the audience seemed surprised on how good it was. So, yeah, is does renew your faith in the band. It was a good show.