Even with more than 60 camera angles to work with, the director Paul Dugdale is already at a disadvantage in filming “Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour — Live From Paris.”
A space-themed concept shouldn’t come as a surprise: Perry is a futuristic cyborg in a live-action video game trying to free an A.I.-controlled world. To do so, she must save the butterflies. Every “level” gets her closer to riding one at the end of the show. It’s pop empowerment desperate for a through line.
And yet, when Perry is front and center at Accor Arena in Paris, without any frills or Perry-ized attempts at social commentary, you can see the potential. Give her a guitar and simply allow her to be a pop star.
Her best songs only make the worst ones feel more laborious. Spectacle, from the opening “Tron”-inspired wire cage suspending her midair to aerial rigs and wires, often does the real work. No number of camera angles can give new dimension to a faceless song like “All the Love,” for instance.
But you already know if this movie is for you, and if not, the first drawn-out 12 minutes, in which Perry fully embraces her trademark goofiness during costume fittings and dance rehearsals, will tell you. Are you laughing? Or are you cringing?
She explains opting out of a showy in-ear monitor to, instead, direct attention to her makeup and her chest. When she finally hits the stage, Perry knows exactly what she wants you to see.
Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour — Live from Paris Not rated. Running time: 2 hours 12 minutes. In theaters.
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