When I watched “Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft – The Tour Live in 3D” during this Sunday afternoon, the screening condition was rather disappointing. Although this was intended to be shown in 3D, it was shown in 2D here in South Korean theaters instead despite its higher ticket price, and my only consolation is that I watched it at a big Dolby Atmos screening room at least. Thanks to the first-rate sound system of the screening room, I often felt like being right in the middle of a big concert, though my ears winced a bit whenever the music in the film got quite loud.

Therefore, I cannot tell you about how the film actually looks in 3D, but I can tell you instead that 1) it looks fairly wonderful even in 2D and 2) I appreciate more of Eilish’s considerable talent and presence. Although she is only 24 at present, she does have all the right stuffs for becoming a very talented pop star to dazzle millions of fans out there, and I think she will continue to grow and advance as she has during last several years.

The main subject of the film is her 2025 concert tour “Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour”, which was a part of the promotion for her third studio album “Hit Me Hard and Soft”. At the beginning, we see how her concert in Manchester, UK was prepared step by step, and then the film shows us Eilish being prepared to perform in front of thousands of fans already quite eager to see her on the stage.

And she did not disappoint them at all right from when she appeared onto the stage. Amid all those loud sounds and flash lights poured upon the stage (The movie gives a warning in advance for anyone with a serious degree of photosensitive epilepsy, by the way), she confidently dances and performs for more fun and excitement, and it is clear that she really appreciates how many of her fans are connected together via her music.

The film occasionally shows the very emotional reactions of the audiences at the concert. Although this initially feels like an overkill considering all those loud shouts from them, they look genuinely excited and touched by Eilish’s performance as far as I can see, and we later get several interview clips showing some of her audiences gladly talking about how special her music has been to them. Watching Eilish casually and freely expressing herself on the stage, they often feel like being supported and empowered by the sense of empathy generated from that, and we come to have more understanding on their passionate response to her music.

Meanwhile, the film sometimes looks more into how Eilish prepared herself for the concert. While there is a little injury problem in one of her ankles, she remains mostly relaxed, and there is an amusing moment showing her and her several staff members getting some emotional support from a bunch of dogs under their care. Although she is doing the concert without her brother Finneas O’Connell, he sends a sincere and considerate message to his sister before the concert, and Eilish is certainly grateful for that.

And we see how fully she is in the control of her public image. At one point, she is willing to show a bit of herself in front of a group of fans already waiting for the concert outside, and then we see her cheerfully interacting with not only them but also many other fans coming to see her. She also cannot help but become conscious of how important she has been as a trailblazing worldwide pop star during last several years, but music and self-expression always come first for her, and she simply enjoys throwing herself more into her artistic passion while never hiding herself at all.

I must confess that I do not know much about Eilish beyond her two Oscar-winning songs, which were incidentally for “No Time to Die” (2021) and “Barbie” (2023), respectively. I am still not a big fan of her music, but I understand the emotional appeal of her songs to some degree, and I will not deny that I was touched a bit as watching her sincerely performing her Oscar-winning song for “Barbie” and then making a bit of emotional connection with some of her audiences.

Eilish also co-directed and co-produced the film along with James Cameron, who also served as its co-editor. I really have no idea on how much he and Eilish actually contributed to the film respectively, but I can tell you at least that Eilish handled well several moments when she had to not only perform but also wield a little camera on the stage, and it is apparent that she had a lot of fun with this wild filmmaking process.

One particularly weak aspect of the film is that it does not delve much into Eilish as a person. During his several interview scenes with Eilish, Cameron throws fairly soft questions to her as holding the camera right in front of her, and Eilish mildly responds to these questions without revealing much about herself on the whole. As I observed from R.J. Cutler’s documentary film “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” (2021), she may still need to go through a lot more life experience for more wisdom and honesty, and now I am all the more curious about how she will be around 10 or 20 years later.

Overall, “Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft – The Tour Live in 3D” is a solid concert film which will definitely entertain and then satisfy numerous fans of Eilish out there. Although it probably looks more effective in 3D, I had a fair share of good time thanks to the commendable direction of Eilish and Cameron, and I certainly prefer this well-made product to that recent bloated blockbuster of his. I felt merely tired in case of the latter, but I felt considerably energized in case of the former, and I guess that will tell you a lot.