Even for a band that has built a career on amazing music and the embrace of any medium that can support it, U2’s new 3D concert release must have been a daunting task. With an enormous logistics load already in place for their vertigo tour adding a large percentage of the world’s 3D camera rigs to the equation can’t have been easy, but the result seems to be worth it… kind of.

As you don the special glasses and watch as the camera drops behind Larry Mullen’s kit the third dimension, or the illusion of it, fairly whacks you in the face. The clarity and depth washes in and out depending on what’s on the screen and how you’re looking at it.

Rightly, you can tell the DOP has earned his cash, creating shots that focus on the new dimension playing a lot with foreground and background. At times the band members play up to camera almost reaching out into the audience which is quite a buzz and when you combine this level of stimulation with the already over the top engagement of a U2 concert it makes for an amazing ride.

After a while you almost forget the 3D element and settle in on the music’s merit alone, luckily the guys can play, with tracks like Sunday Bloody Sunday and With or Without You being fired across fans with the band’s trademark passion, that end of the project was never really in doubt.

The concert would have made a valuable addition to U2 visual catalogue but the fun and electricity of the 3d medium makes in an absolute must for fans and a worthwhile film for music and film fans in general.