U23D Review: You Experience It - You Do Not Watch It
You know when you wake up from a great dream and you want to go right back asleep to where you left off? That is what it feels like at the closing credits of U23D.
The movie is seriously like a dream state. One moment you are part of the audience (and I mean really part of the audience - the guys heads in front of you in the theater BLEND into the heads of the concert viewers; in fact on more than one occasion I briefly thought why is this person standing and waving in the theater?!) and then you are moved to the stage looking back at 100,000 screaming fans as if you were a rock star (and you actually feel like you are on stage - no joke. You feel like a rock star). Sounds corny huh? Not when you are experiencing it, believe me.
Most of the time however you are hovering around the concert like some sort of omnipotent being, witnessing a sea of humanity being entertained by one of the greatest bands of all time. I am a U2 fan, so I am biased; but I place only The Beatles ahead of U2. That says something as I am also a die hard Led Zeppelin fan. In my eyes they have surpassed Led Zep through longevity and sheer music catalog.
The best part about the movie is that it was real. No CGI (other than nicely done touch ups for effects) and the mass of Argentinians were so very NOT Beowulf. If you were confused as to what a 3D movie is after seeing Beowulf, do yourself a huge favor and see U23D. It was nice to see the pure randomness of a crowd of 100,000 that still somehow managed to move in synch to the music. CGI is not that good yet. Soon but not yet. The movie keeps getting better as it unfolds - closeups simply rock.
The movie makes me think what do we have in store for us from someone like James Cameron and his Sci-Fi "Avatar". If you take the pure experience of it and add in the flexibility that Cameron will have with his Weta team, the possibilities are endless. This is the guy that gave us Aliens and The Terminator. He has the vision. My God, "Avatar" will own the box office for a long time. Mark my words right now. "Titanic" may sink to second place for the all time record.
That being said, U23D stands up as its own masterpiece. It simply rocks in what it is - a concert. The bar has been set extremely high for other bands to follow. But follow they will because in this day and age of free Internet music, the entertainers have got to make their money somehow - theater concerts will become a big piece of it I believe. I have said it before - people will pay a premium to see a live 3D theater concert that has been sold out or that is not available in smaller cities. Then they will pay a normal amount to see the concert after the fact. This coupled with the actual revenue from the concerts themselves will bring in great rewards for the musicians.
This is the beginning of an era folks. Consider yourself lucky to have witnessed it. Get yourself to the theater and check out U23D - tell 'em Jim at MarketSaw sent you. That and the cost of admission will get you in...
