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Movies / Upcoming / U2 3D
U2 3D

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U2 3D (2008)

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Reviews Counted:87

Fresh:80

Rotten:7

Average Rating:7.5/10

Consensus: 3D transports the viewer to an intimate seat at a U2 performance, for an exhilarating musical experience at the price of a movie ticket.

Rated: U

Runtime: 85 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Theatrical Release:22-02-2008

Synopsis: The larger-than-life rock band is given perhaps the only treatment that can properly capture its outsized popularity with a 3D concert film extravaganza. Produced by the 3D masters at 3ality... The larger-than-life rock band is given perhaps the only treatment that can properly capture its outsized popularity with a 3D concert film extravaganza. Produced by the 3D masters at 3ality Digital Entertainment, the film comprises footage from seven different South American concerts during the group's 2007 Vertigo Tour. A massive undertaking, the project called for nine different cameras, making it the first-ever 3-D multi-camera live shoot. Directors Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington had previously worked with the band--Owens as the designer of screen visuals for their tours, and Pellington as the director for the "One" video--and they may have succeeded in doing what few concert films can, by truly capturing the ecstatic joy of a massive rock show. While still offering plenty of footage of the rapturous crowd, the film puts you exactly where you want to be at a concert: as close as possible to the performers. You get so close, in fact, that the first time the camera swoops in on Bono, it creates a strange sense of, well, vertigo, to have the mega-star's nose nearly grazing your own. The cameras draw in close enough to show beads of sweat flying from The Edge, and even reveal the middle-aged paunch Bono has hidden inside his motorcycle jacket. The sound quality is impeccable, and the moment it kicks into the drumbeat for "Bloody Sunday," it is nearly impossible to keep at least one body part from involuntarily bouncing in time. For U2 fans, the film can only be exhilarating, though it may hold less sway for those who don't own the band's complete, decades-spanning catalog. [More]

Starring: U2

Starring: U2

Director: Mark Pellington, Catherine Owens

Director: Mark Pellington, Catherine Owens
Producer: Jon Shapiro, Peter Shapiro, John Modell, Catherine Owens
Studio: National Geographic

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Reviews for U2 3D

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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The rock mega-band U2 has made so many concert films that it's hard to get excited about this one.... But the film is a revelation, redefining 3D live-action moviemaking.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
02/23/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Inadvertently, U2 3D mimics perfectly the empty, intimacy-free spectacle that is stadium rock.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
02/22/08
David Gritten
David Gritten
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

U2 just look like four conceited billionaires who are further up themselves than ever.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment 1 Comment
02/22/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It makes you want to climb on screen and give the big, eco-friendly lug a hug.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
02/22/08
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Total Film

Ultimately, U2 3D will infuriate as many as it dazzles – attendance depends on how much Bono-me you can stomach or how grabbed you are by 3D cinema.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
02/22/08
Rob Daniel
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies

If you already love U2 your conviction will be strengthened. If you hate them, it will confirm your worst fears. Either way, the 3D technology is fantastic.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
02/22/08
Jon Fortgang
Jon Fortgang
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bono should refrain from ramming his preachy political meanderings down our throats and let the music do the talking. Even if some of that music becomes a little stultifying.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/22/08
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's not for nothing that these guys are the world's finest live act.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/22/08
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The playlist alone with thrill fans, but while spectacular, the 3D element still can't replicate the feeling of a live gig.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
02/19/08
Anna Smith
Anna Smith
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Mike Miliard
Mike Miliard
Boston Phoenix

U2 3D is an isle of style and sense in a sea of mediocrity.

Full Review Source: Fayetteville Free Weekly | comment Comment
02/02/09
Tony Macklin
Tony Macklin
Fayetteville Free Weekly
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
10/18/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

On the IMAX screen, these Irish rockers really rattle and hum.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/18/08
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

If you are a die hard U2 fan, you will LOVE LOVE LOVE this! A very cool experience!

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
07/22/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

By the time Bono turns to the camera, reaching out to his audience in a typically theatrical plea for peace, love and understanding, one half expects his outstretched hand to surge through the screen and seize one of your own.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
04/09/08
Rossiter Drake
Rossiter Drake
San Francisco Examiner

When Bono reaches into the camera and out of the screen, there are few cinematic moments more intimate.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/03/08
Annlee Ellingson
Annlee Ellingson
Boxoffice Magazine

It is a band apart, both in terms of music and message.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
03/06/08
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

Not better than the real thing, but close.

Full Review Source: Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) | comment Comment
02/29/08
John Wirt
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

U23D captures the band and the excitement of their live shows in a way that no other medium could. The combination of art and science, technology and emotion, separates U23D from being just a nifty 3D experiment and elevates it to a pop mast

Full Review Source: TheDivaReview.com | comment Comment
02/28/08
Diva Velez
Diva Velez
TheDivaReview.com

U2 3D is the perfect synergy of music, technology and magic.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for U2 3D

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