I honestly didn’t know what to make of Bono: Stories of Surrender going in, given that Bono as an artist is someone I really only know in theory. Obviously, I know of him, and I’ve heard a handful of U2 songs in my time, but despite my general enjoyment of rock and roll, U2 and, by extension, Bono’s music have never particularly grabbed me. I have nothing against it; I just don’t have any stake in it.

Still, I try to go into everything with an open mind. And with the prestige of a service that consistently puts quality over quantity like Apple TV+ behind it, I was certain that Stories of Surrender would provide something special. While the final film is at least unique and therefore special, it should be noted that “special” does not always equate to good.

Bono: Stories of Surrender plot

Bono: Stories of Surrender is obviously not a traditional narrative film, nor is it a traditional documentary film. Instead, it is essentially a filmed and slightly edited version of his live show, Stories of Surrender, which he originally performed as a promotional piece for his 2022 memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. The entire movie is simply Bono onstage recounting stories of his life and career, occasionally intercut by musical performances from him and his accompaniment. That’s it.

Bono: Stories of Surrender Review

Right off the bat, you can start to see the core problem with Bono: Stories of Surrender. Very few people can make talking about themselves for ninety minutes straight interesting, and with all due respect, Bono is not one of them. He’s a talented musician and, by all accounts, a decent human being, which helps prevent the proceedings from becoming completely insufferable. But his particular perspective on his particular story is not especially unique within his generation or within his field.

Indeed, when I realized that the entire movie was just going to be him doing stand-up routines with little to no jokes in between musical performances, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. If we had gotten to see other people’s perspectives on his story, that might have livened things up. But not only do we not see that, none of the other people he talks about, even the ones who are still alive, ever get to speak for themselves. It’s solely his perspective the entire time, and that quickly becomes monotonous.

Related: 5 Lesser-Known Facts About Bono’s Life and Career

I understand that for some people, this might be the entire point. They want to see Bono’s unfiltered perspective on his life. And I might be able to agree with that if the stories he was telling weren’t almost exclusively the kind of stories you’ve heard a million times before in other musician-focused documentaries/biopics. Whatever unique perspective Bono has to offer is diluted by poor presentation.

Speaking of which, staging is the other big problem here. While some effort is made to shake up the set design throughout, the stage choreography is agonizingly flat. The musical performances come out of this slightly better than the spoken word segments, if only by virtue of Bono being a very talented singer accompanied by very talented instrumentalists, but again, there’s very little going on in terms of choreography.

Related: ‘Bono: Stories of Surrender’: Is the New Apple TV+ Movie Based on a True Story?

I’m sure it was incredibly impactful to watch and hear live, but it doesn’t feel like anything special in the filmed version. More than anything else, it reminds me of badly filmed versions of Broadway shows where capturing the entirety of the stage is given absolute priority to the detriment of the viewing experience in terms of film. I imagine some of these issues might be lessened in the Apple Immersive Video version on Apple Vision Pro, seeing as how that would likely make you feel more like you’re in the room with Bono, but sadly I was not privy to that version.

Is Bono: Stories of Surrender worth watching?

I wish I liked Bono: Stories of Surrender. I think an artist like Bono using his platform to champion the value of vulnerability is a very important and valuable thing. And in moments such as Bono discussing his charity work and the cruel world that necessitates it, the film hints at a deeper brilliance. Sadly, those hints are buried under flat staging, abysmal pacing for a film this short, and a black-and-white visual gimmick that only serves to make the story feel pretentious rather than deep.

There are various moments throughout the documentary where Bono calls himself a sellout or a hypocrite for making something so self-indulgent when he’s such an advocate for selflessness. These moments feel like an attempt at self-reflection on Bono’s part, but in practice only serve to highlight Stories of Surrender as little more than a vanity project. I wanted to be impressed by this, but the only thing that impressed me about it is that I found a movie this year I disliked more than the live-action Lilo & Stitch way faster than I thought I would.

Bono: Stories of Surrender streams on Apple TV+ May 30.

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