From the Sky Down

Directed by Davis Guggenheim, From the Sky Down primarily follows U2’s four band members – Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr – as they set out to follow-up 1987’s insanely successful The Joshua Tree with 1991’s Achtung Baby. There’s little doubt that Under the Sky Down improves steadily as it progresses, as the movie’s opening half hour ultimately feels like a typically superficial behind-the-scenes featurette on a bonus DVD. It’s only as Guggenheim digs deeper into the band’s astronomical rise to fame with The Joshua Tree that the film begins to adopt a more substantive atmosphere, although, by that same token, Guggenheim does display a penchant for dwelling on topics of a less-than-engrossing nature (eg there’s a whole stretch on the impact that the Berlin Wall coming down had on the band). Having said that, From the Sky Down certainly contains a number of palpably enthralling sequences and interludes – with an obvious highlight the creation of the song “One,” which almost seems to happen accidentally. (There’s something quite thrilling about listening to Bono spout gibberish in place of lyrics as he discovers the song’s infamous melody.) By the time the movie begins documenting the creation of U2’s ZOO TV tour, Under the Sky Down has certainly established itself as a passable piece of work that’s clearly been designed to appeal primarily to die-hard fans of the band.

**1/2 out of ****