Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012)

It is a performances centric movie

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

In the truest meaning of the word....fantastic. All I wanted to do was hit replay, but I've gotta get some sleep before work, dangit. There was much more movie value to this one than the others I've seen, which were primarily different camera angles of a stage show. If you're a purist, you're not gonna like that. But if you love Cirque for Cirque...you will be enthralled for 85 mins. As always, at the end of a Cirque show, I am breathless. Beauty, power, grace, theatricality...how they keep coming up with news ways to amaze me...well, it amazes me. Watch and be transported...I certainly was.

This is only the second Cirque du Soleil show I've seen (I saw Saltimbanco live last year and also bought the DVD, which I was impressed with). Maybe I don't have enough experience with Cirque to be qualified to express an informed opinion, but this did seem cobbled together.I in no way intend to minimize or trivialize the performers themselves: all are top-notch, and some of the performances are breathtaking. That huge gizmo with the circling barrels... darn, I have no idea what to call it or even what show it's from... it's impressive enough when the artists are running and jumping around inside the rotating cylinders, but then one of them hops right out and not only runs around the OUTSIDE of the thing, he runs on his HANDS as it flies through the air! Then he jump-ropes for a while! Man, if that rope caught on one of those moving parts, it would be Game Over. I don't know how he did it, but I do know that now the most amazing thing I've seen in a James Cameron film is NOT a special effect! The 'story', such as it is, is a pseudo Alice In Wonderland setup where an earthly character gets lost in a weird world and tries to find her way out. I just wish she hadn't been lost quite so long with the Beatles... I'm not a fan. I would like to have heard and seen more from the Elvis show. I found the ending satisfying.Worth a look for fans and the random curious, but I prefer Saltimbanco all in all.

Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away is a beautiful piece of eye-candy that encapsulates a story that I'll be damned if I can make clear to you. From what I can tell, the film is about an aerialist, who is smitten with the mysterious and enchanting world of "Cirque Du Soleil," and decides to perform with them and explore many different worlds. That's the extent of what I can provide.Even if you can only extract that, this film is a ravishing piece of eclectic, artful fun, if a bit too wrapped up in its love for visual flair. This was a special released right in time for Christmas (which I would have seen on the big screen, had I not been stricken with a paralyzing flu-bug), and was guaranteed to provide its attendees a bountiful time with lovely visuals, incredible style, and sensory-stimulating excitement. It succeeds at that and for it, it should be commended. I've never had the pleasure to see a "Cirque Du Soleil" show in person, but I question if the story lines are as vague as the one given here. I'm all for stunning visuals, but there needs to be an extractable emotion, idea, or story that is found inside of them.Take Ron Fricke's Samsara for example, a picture with some of the best visuals I have ever seen on film. There are no words in the entire ninety+ minutes in it, but so many morals, meanings, subtleties, and ideas can be pulled from its amazing long-shots that multiple viewings are an obligation. I have seen it twice now and have yet to grasp everything behind it. I've sort of assumed the idea that I simply will never be able to see everything in that film. I didn't expect Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away to perplex and amaze me in an experience germane to Samsara, but with all that being said, I would've liked some story of some encapsulating message. Should I just assume I'll never be able to see anything here? But I am starting to think, who goes to "Cirque Du Soleil" to get silly things such as morals or to get the benefit of a great story? It's all about the visuals, clearly, and for that alone, this film excels in them. Director Andrew Adamson, who previously worked with visuals on a macro-scope on The Chronicles of Narnia film series and the Shrek franchise, captures the unfolding talent and gravity-defying acrobatics with marvelous clarity and framing. I was stunned by the presence of wider shots, showing the "Cirque Du Soleil" sets in full-form rather than close-ups centering in on a piece of the action. Adamson employs a directorial style similar to that of Steven Soderbergh's in Magic Mike; he wants his audience to see a bigger picture, rather than a condensed, minimized one.Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away is made for three kinds of people; the kind that have indulged in a "Cirque Du Soleil" show and relish the thought , those who crave to experience it at one point, and the latter category being the curious parties, like myself. It was a pleasant experience - one that zips along at about eighty-two minutes minus credits - and provides viewers with an incorruptible sense of wonder and zest. Seeing these brilliant aerialists , acrobats, and performers commit remarkably talented and precise body-movements made me almost reach for the Bengay. I can't imagine the debates among the artists on who is more sore the following day.Starring: Erica Linz, Igor Zaripov, and John Clarke. Directed by: Andrew Adamson.

Being a Cirque movie, I kinda knew what to expect (loose plot, allegorical imagery, etc.) but the visuals were really breathtaking. Seeing the acts up close, with vivid costumes and colours, it would look great even if it wasn't in 3D! It would have been great if they could put La Nouba in, and some of the touring shows, but time and logistics constraints didn't permit. So it is a sort of promotional film for Cirque's Las Vegas productions.Generally speaking, the music composed specially for the movie was only mildly memorable. I had fun, though, identifying the existing themes and tunes from the different shows (there was even a bit of Simcha in the old-school circus at the beginning ;)However, the one thing that bugged me after seeing the whole film was that there was too much Beatles! Although Zumanity didn't appear much (for the sake of family-friendliness perhaps), and as a whole the acts selected were awesome, it seemed to be one Beatles song after another. Cirque has always emphasised the use of Cirquish (an invented language) for lyrics, which does not distract us from the act. And to add insult to injury, Mystere only made a single appearance in the film (a cube act, I believe). How can the longest-running Cirque show in Vegas only merit a passing mention? Thank goodness Viva Elvis only made a single appearance (a trampoline act). Nevertheless, the saving grace of the movie was the inclusion of much material from O and Ka. Ka really brought home the point that it was possible to do dramatic fight scenes live on stage, and 'O' showed us what was possible with water.I'd still recommend Worlds Away to my friends, as a gateway into what Cirque du Soleil is about.