Ireland's Favorite Sons Release 3D Movie

By BRYNN BOYER

Over spring break, my dad I and went to a U2 concert. The seats were phenomenal and the price couldn’t have been better—$20 for both tickets. For an hour and a half, I was up close and personal with Bono, Adam, Larry and The Edge—well, as personal as I could get from my movie theater seat.

“U2 3D,” which opened in theaters across the country in January, is a National Geographic-produced compilation of several of the band’s concerts from the Latin American leg of their Vertigo tour.
As we entered the theater, the guy behind the counter handed us 3D glasses to wear during the movie that were almost as cool as Bono’s distinctive shades.

The only time Bono removed his signature blue-tinted sunglasses was during the emotional tribute to his father, “Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own.”

Opening the concert with a high-energy version of their most recent hit, “Vertigo,” U2 played most of its hits from an over 20-year-long career, including “Where the Streets Have No Name” and “With or Without You.”

“That’s my ringtone!” I whispered when Bono launched into the opening strains of “Beautiful Day.”

Although the movie focused on the music of U2, it didn’t neglect the importance of political and social commentary to U2’s message.
During the anti-war anthem “Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” Bono appealed world religions to stop fighting.

“Jesus, Mohammed, Jew, all true,” he sang during an interlude, pointing to his ‘coexist’ headband.

The articles of the United Nations Bill of Rights came on the Jumbotron at the end of “Miss Sarajevo.”

Toward the end of the concert, U2 played “One,” the song that inspired the name of the African aid organization that Bono advocates.

The ones lucky enough to actually be at the concert waved flags from their respective countries, held up peace signs and used their cell phones as faux lighters during the slow songs.

Several times during the concert, the crowd overpowered Bono’s voice; they must have been devoted fans since they were singing the words to every song.

The 3D aspect of the movie made the concert a much more real experience, though special effects weren’t used to the movie’s detriment.

According to the movie website, “U2 3D” is the first “live-action movie shot and exhibited in breakthrough digital 3D.” Although I’m not quite sure what the technical jargon means, I do know that the movie uses the coolest special effects on the big screen that I’ve seen since “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

For long-time fans of U2, “U2 3D” proves to be an inspirational, thought provoking and rockin’ experience.

For those who don’t know the “Joshua Tree” album from “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” the movie is a like an introductory course, a “U2 101” taught by the band itself.

There are no required texts or final exams and the “class” only meets once for 90 minutes—unless, of course, the student likes it so much they choose to repeat the experience.