I have been a One Direction fan ever since they were formed by Simon Cowell on The X Factor. So when the news broke out that for one weekend they would be showing a movie of their recent tour, I immediately got tickets. Prior to watching the movie, I was expecting a similar experience to watching the first movie, This is Us. I thoroughly enjoyed their first movie, which went behind the scenes of their tour and even gave us a glimpse of their lives and where they grew up. One of my favorite moments from that movie was when Zayn was talking to his mother on the phone and she thanked him for buying them a house. It was such a touching moment! Also, wasn’t it adorable seeing Harry in the bakery he used to work at? The humor, the music, and let’s face it – their good looks – are what originally drew me to them. So I was expecting a similar takeaway from this movie. But my reaction was quite different.
The movie opens up with a group interview. They talk about how much their lives have changed and they go into detail about the tour. But the interview felt forced. The vibe that I got from the boys was different. Sure, there were a few laughs here and there, but they did not seem like the fun and energetic guys we all fell in love with. This might be partially due to the fact the interview took place a good ways into the tour and the guys needed to catch a break. But ultimately, who knows why. Also, this was the only interview in the movie and we did not get to hear them talk or connect with the audience much after that. In the interview itself, they discussed some of their favorite places and venues they have been to so far on their tour. One of their favorites being Italy, which was where the concert movie was filmed.
There’s an opening video, which started it off. In the video, the guys are in front of a green screen and they are put in these different places and wearing a ton of different outfits. There’s some humor involved, and it sets the tone well for the concert. The guys opened up their concert with “Midnight Memories,” which is one of my personal favorites from their album. From the time they set on stage, you could see the full set design, which was amazing. It fit the tone of their album and it was really amazing. You could see the screens from wherever you sat in the stadium. Also, the visuals and lighting were done really well. It reminded me of The X Factor stage set, which might have been a bit coincidental. However, the majority of the shots were of their fans crying. It was really touching at first, until it became about 85% of what we saw. (Seriously!)
The boys also took us back and sang songs from early on their career such as “One Thing” and “What Makes You Beautiful.” It was a nice added touch, and we got to hear how their music evolved from then until now. One of my personal favorites that they sang was “Story of My Life,” and we got to see the fans hold up their family photos. It was really adorable and I thought it tied together the music video, the song, and their fans quite nicely.
Advertisement
Also, this would not be a One Direction movie if there wasn’t any humor. I have not seen a concert where the artists went off to take a bathroom break in the middle of the set, until now. It was quite humourous. Leaving Liam in his lonesome on stage, the rest of the boys went off to use the bathroom, camera man following close behind. Definitely added that One Direction, down to earth sense of humor I was looking for.
Overall, the concert movie was decent. It did not have the same overall performance as their last film, but as a One Direction fan, I’m still happy that I at least saw it once. Their performance was good, but I felt that they did not connect with the crowd as much. When they did have time to chat, I was expecting to hear some funny stories from the tour and such, but it was more of general thank you’s and hello’s. The music was great, and it covered their biggest hits as well as a number of tracks from their current album. Compared to the first movie where I felt like I connected with the band (despite them being on the big screen), I did not get that same feeling this time around. But their music was still great as ever.
Movie Rating: 5/10
Advertisement
Music: 10/10
You can watch the trailer to the movie here:
Advertisement
Advertisement