The tagline for Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour Live in 3D is “Billie Eilish and James Cameron reinvent the concert experience.” It’s a bold claim, to be sure. But does it actually pull it off? I guess that depends on who you ask, or perhaps what your expectations are.

Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour Live in 3D , the latest film from legendary filmmaker James Cameron and the (co-)directorial debut from Billie Eilish, presents a live performance from Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour,” recorded in Manchester, England. The big gimmick here, though, is that famed director James Cameron has brought his crazy 3D rig, similar to the ones used for his previous 3D documentaries and, of course, the Avatar series, in order to bring audiences closer than ever to Eilish; better than any VIP seat ever could. Not only are you in the front row, but you literally get to experience parts of the show on stage alongside Eilish; you can almost reach out and touch the superstar. For fans, it’s an experience unlike any other. But for the average filmgoer, perhaps less so.

There’s no denying Eilish’s talent; it’s remarkable the way a single individual can hold a stadium’s attention with so little spectacle to surround her. Eilish’s stage, on which she spends nearly two hours running and jumping around, is massive but sparse, especially compared to other arena shows from her contemporaries. Do not expect the flash of Swift’s The Era’s Tour here; the focus is almost exclusively on Eilish and her craft. And yet, through her music, she keeps the audience utterly transfixed by her every note.

It’s a shame then that the full film cannot do the same.

The “documentary” portion of the film seems to lack any sort of narrative thread. There’s some attempt to do so with a “Show minus X-amount of hours ” countdown for a few of the segments, but those never really build to anything. And the way the film interrupts the concert’s flow to cut to documentary moments also feels unintentional. The simple fact is, this is far more concert than it is documentary ; probably about 85% concert, 15% behind the scenes documentary. For some, that may be seen as a plus: you get a front row seat at a Billie Eilish concert, with the occasional fleeting glimpse into how it all came together. But those glimpses are truly fleeting; whenever Cameron begins to find something interesting, we’re onto the next moment, the next song.

Which is a shame, because every so often these little vignettes seem to peel back a layer and reveal insight into Eilish’s creative process or her humanity. The two most memorable (and perhaps unsurprisingly, the longest) of these are when we actually meet some of Eilish’s fans and hear what she means to them, and how she has changed their lives. The other, a slightly less detailed vignette about Eilish’s feelings on being a female performer, what it means to her, and how she wants to change the perception of what it means to be feminine. These moments are both fascinating and powerful. But Cameron (and Eilish, who it must be remembered is co-directing) seems afraid to dig too deep, favouring the 3D concert footage instead.

In some ways, I do wonder if Eilish’s direct involvement is helping or hindering the piece. The best music documentaries are those that, while of course sanctioned by the artists, have a clear directorial voice from the filmmaker, not the subject ( Madonna: Truth or Dare comes to mind). So it’s hard to know if this desire not to probe deeper comes from Cameron’s disinterest or Eilish’s reluctance. That’s not to say there’s no candid moments; there’s a moment in the film where Eilish declares, “I want to be the kind of artist that I would be a fan of”, but the film doesn’t ever really give us any indication of what that actually means. It’s those moments that feel the most frustrating; dancing on the edge of insight. Regardless, it does leave you wanting more, if, of course, you’re here for the documentary and not for the show .

As for the show itself, it certainly looks fantastic. Though it stops short of reinventing anything. The 3D suffers from the same issues as all 3D films, with the effect mostly wearing off after a few minutes, leaving only a dimmer image. There are multiple moments when hands, phones, or heads will just randomly pop into frame (such is the nature of an uncontrolled environment like a live concert), and, admittedly, audiences may find themselves trying to move their heads or swat their hands as if they were actually there. But otherwise, it never felt like the 3D effect was all that warranted. In fact, there were multiple times when I removed my glasses and was shocked by how little of an impact it seemed to have on the image. The background is mostly just an audience in the dark anyway, so the illusion of depth isn’t really enhanced much by the 3D. Needless to say, unlike Cameron’s Avatar films, this does not feel like a film that demands you spend the extra money on a 3D exhibition. It’s a nice-to-have, not a requirement.

All in all, though Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour Live in 3D may not exactly reinvent the concert experience in the way Cameron and Eilish hoped it would, for fans of the musician, it will offer a truly unparalleled, up-close concert experience that they will absolutely love.

Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour Live in 3D is now playing in theatres.