First Hit: Some great visuals but in the end very unsatisfying.
Having seen many live Cirque du Soleil performances, I was very impressed with with this film because I was able to see, up close, many of the acts (5 contortionists and two men on the rotating wheels among many) along with a slowing down, through slow motion, to be able to see just how hard some of those feats are to perform.
The 3D was excellently used and never felt like it was being used to show off 3-D abilities. What was disappointing was the lead Mia (played by Erica Linz). She was suppose to be wandering and lost in this “Worlds Away” world looking for her love The Aerialist (played by Igor Zaripov). Fortunately she didn’t speak much in this role because when she did it was shrill and not pleasing to the ear. Her travels took her through many Cirque du Soleil shows, including the incredibly inspiring “O” and the very lackluster “Love”.
Linz was very disappointing. Her acting was unconvincing, poorly expressive, and her voice was painful to listen to. However, she was good when she was actually performing in a Cirque act with Zaripov. Zaripov was good as “The Aerialist” because he simply did his Cirque act. Andrew Adamson wrote the minimal script and for the most part directed the 3-D with aplomb.
Overall: If you’ve not seen a Cirque du Soleil show, this give you the opportunity to see some of what goes on.