U2 3D a Virtual Triumph

Sitting through the IMAX feature U2 3D isn't exactly like being at one of the legendary rock band's shows. "In many ways, watching the movie is better," writes Desson Thomson of the Washington Post. The film's incredibly lifelike presentation of U2 "shows how closely technology can match" the kind of "natural high" that a live concert delivers—except there are no obstructed views or post-gig trudges to "parking lot hell," he writes.

The picture was shot, edited, and is being shown in digital 3D, and requires that 3-D glasses be worn for viewing. It features performances from U2's 2006 Latin American tour. It's "the first IMAX movie that deserves to be called a work of art," gushes Matt Zoller Seitz of the New York Times. It's going o be "hard for conventional 2D rock films to make a splash after people get a look at this," warns Peter Howell of Toronto's Star. (More Bono stories.)