U2 movie rocks the big screen
The first time I saw a U2 movie, my friends all sat around me
and we sang along to the few songs we knew from the
”
Achtung Baby
”
album. We were 15 and the concert was on pay-per-view in my
living room. It was an overseas concert from the
”
Zoo TV
”
tour, and I am sure the few seconds my parents saw with Bono
wearing devil horns probably freaked them out. But it was the start
of a love affair for me.
U2 movie rocks the big screen
The first time I saw a U2 movie, my friends all sat around me and we sang along to the few songs we knew from the “Achtung Baby” album. We were 15 and the concert was on pay-per-view in my living room. It was an overseas concert from the “Zoo TV” tour, and I am sure the few seconds my parents saw with Bono wearing devil horns probably freaked them out. But it was the start of a love affair for me.
“Acthung Baby” contained the first U2 songs I listened to of my own volition. Sure I’d heard the popular “Joshua Tree” tunes from MTV videos and the radio, but “Acthung” was the first album for my generation. We knew all the lyrics to “Mysterious Ways,” “So Cruel” and “Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World.” The video for “One” made our hearts break a little every time we watched it as the men from the band dressed in drag and sang:
You gave me nothing,
Now it’s all I got
We’re one, but we’re not the same
Well we hurt each other,
Then we do it again
The next album was Zooropa and I carried it around in my backpack until someone stole it in French class. The songs were weird and edgy, but we kept listening. I bought the older albums, including “Unforgettable Fire,” which I found in a bargain bin at Long’s Drugs.
While “Achtung” was just the beginning for me, it was well into the career for four Irish lads from Dublin. The latest installment in the 20-plus year relationship with fans is the “U2 3D movie,” playing in IMAX theaters now. I am sure some new teenagers will see it in the theaters, and like me, it will be the start of a life-long love of U2’s music. In fact, one of the cool things about the movie is that the band seems to transcend generations. Waiting in line for the film, there were parents with elementary school kids, people my age in their late 20s, and even single dads with their teenage daughters. I asked around and most dads agree, teens usually won’t be caught anywhere with them.
The movie has been touted as the closest one can come to the concert experience without dropping a wad of cash the next time the band tours. After a viewing at the closest IMAX theater in Dublin – California, not Ireland – I found it was better than any concert video I’ve ever seen. The directors of the film used 3D technology and surround sound to shoot a concert in Buenos Aires from the Vertigo tour.
I saw U2 during the Vertigo tour, first in San Jose, and then in Oakland as they traveled on the second American leg of the tour. I knew what to expect from the movie. The movie mostly documents exactly what happens on stage, though it is shorter than any U2 concert I’ve ever been to, so I know they edited out some of the songs or one of the finales.
The things that make the movie so worthwhile are things most people can’t get at a concert. I will never be standing in a huge crowd right in front of the stage with the Edge smiling down on me. But filmmakers Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington balanced footage of the men on stage with shots of the audience. The 3D glasses – the plastic frames are a slight improvement from the cardboard ones of old – make it look as though viewers are in the audience. It offers viewers a little bit of the feel of being among the crowded, sweaty masses with out having all those sweaty bodies close.
In addition, it is possible to hear every word that comes out of Bono’s mouth, something that can be hard in a stadium full of people. Viewers also get close ups of each of the band members. I could see the sweat dripping off Bono’s face, the stitches on his jacket and the laces in the Edge’s Converse sneakers.
U2 has a song that says “two hearts beat as one,” and a U2 concert feels a lot like thousands of hearts beating together as one. There is an intensity at a U2 concert when everyone stands up, moves along to the music and sings every lyric.
And that is where the movie fails to live up to the live experience. As soon as the first song started, I wanted to jump out of my chair and start singing, but this wasn’t a crowded arena buzzing with fans. It was a movie theater and everyone else stayed firmly in their seats. Still, when the big hits started up, such as “Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” and “Pride,” everyone’s feet started tapping.
For hardcore fans, the movie will probably leave them wanting the experience of a real concert. But for fans needing a fix or for those just want to try out the music, it is a great chance to do it at a low cost and without the beer spilling and secondhand smoke that come with a real concert. Though it is playing just at IMAX theaters this week, it opens in Salinas and San Jose Feb. 15.
