BONO: STORIES OF SURRENDER Review: Let the Little Man Tell His Story

Stylishly shot in black and white, the one-man show by U2's lead singer pushes against and through the inherent limitations of the format.

Bono: Stories of Surrender
The documentary debuts globally Friday, May 30, exclusively on Apple TV+. Per an official release: "Also set to premiere on May 30, 2025 on Apple Vision Pro, Bono: Stories of Surrender (Immersive) will be the first feature-length film available in Apple Immersive Video, a remarkable media format recorded in 8K with Spatial Audio to produce a 180-degree video that places viewers onstage with Bono and in the center of his story."

Directed by Andrew Dominik, the film documents the singer's solo show, which he took on tour in 2023 in order to promote his memoir, first published in 2022. Shot in black and white, the show is staged quite dramatically, especially for what is, in essence, a book tour, and faces the same limitations as other filmed stage shows: no matter how good the show may be in person, a recorded version watched at home, or even in a movie theater, doesn't have quite the same impact.

As noted above, though, the show was also captured in "Apple Immersive Video," which reminds me that, a few months ago, I very much enjoyed an in-person demonstration of Apple's system when I visited an Apple Store for an iPhone battery replacement. After the demonstration, which was, quite frankly, phenomenal, I resolved to buy my own Apple Vision Pro, whenever I have a spare $3,500. (Which will never be, but still, it amazed me to watch a brief sequence from James Cameron's latest Avatar. Wow!)

So, I can only imagine the experience of watching this documentary in Apple Immersive Video. Have fun, rich people and/or children with wealthy parents!

Strictly as a documentary of a stage show, however, Bono: Stories of Surrender is worth a watch, especially for fans of the band. (And here, again on a note of personal disclosure and increasing age, I must say that I first saw U2 at the Country Club in Reseda, California, near where The Karate Kid (1984) is set, on a Sunday night in March 1981, on the band's second U.S. tour and their first in California. I stood five feet from Bono and have subsequently always felt very close to the little fellow and his music. The other members of the band were good, too.)

Bono talks about his parents, about the formation of the band, about his girlfriend (who later became his wife), about the inspiration for some of the band's songs, about how some of them were written, about what moves him about the civil and human rights that he and the band champion. And he sings some of the band's best-known songs, all without any of it being automatically downloaded to iTunes users.

It's a good show. It features plenty of pontificating by Bono, but that's kind of what he's known for, isn't it? And at this stage of his life, you're not going to shut him up, thank goodness. If nothing else, this film may well send you scurrying back to listen to U2's best albums in your possession, even if you've heard the songs a million times already.

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