There’s no plot—just the band on stage in Buenos Aires during the Vertigo Tour in support of its last album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. There’s very little of Bono’s well-known humanitarian proclamations—the content is 99 percent music. Before I proceed further, two main facts need revelation: 1) I don’t recall the last time I saw a 3-D movie; 2) I’ve never seen a movie—3-D or otherwise—in an IMAX theater. Due to these factors, the visual impact of U2 3D was all the more stunning and engrossing. The enormous IMAX screen (only a bit wider than a standard theater screen but well more than twice as tall) coupled with state-of-the-art 3-D projection gave the continual impression that, as a viewer, I wasn’t just in the audience, I was hanging from the Edge’s guitar neck; I wasn’t just face to face with Bono, he was caressing my hair with a hand and fingers that appeared only an inch from my eyes.

These visuals greatly enhanced the music, which was predictably well-performed and generously culled from a vast archive of hits. I have no idea how much it cost the band to hire the crew and equipment to create the “first digital 3-D, multi-camera, real-time production,” but if other bands can afford it, they’d be fools not to harness this filmmaking fiat.

U2 3D looks set for wide release this weekend, and its G-rating makes it a very safe bet for a Cineplex excursion with your students. And due to U2’s penchant for raising spiritual issues, you can launch discussions on certain lyrics (e.g., “the real battle’s yet begun/to claim the victory Jesus won…” from “Sunday Bloody Sunday”) and what Bono is getting at when he dons a headband with three symbols—a cross, a Star of David, and a crescent of Islam—and recites, “Jesus, Jew, Mohammad, it’s true…all sons of Abraham.” And don’t forget to stay for the whole 85 minutes, or you’ll miss the band’s rendition of “Yahweh” from the latest album.

This 3-D flick will knock the socks off even those who’re indifferent toward the Irish quartet—and all the more if it’s caught in an IMAX setting. The teachable elements only up the ante…