ABBA Voyage

ABBA Voyage is a concert experience of  ABBA songs from throughout their career, but with CGI avatars that resemble the band at the height of their popularity. The real life members came together to create the experience, singing in motion capture to translate their performance into the de-aged screen counterparts and, along with the pre-recorded vocals (either isolated from their albums, concert recordings, or re-recorded), there was a live band to help fill the arena. There was even a dance floor area for those who wanted to boogie the night away. 

What I Liked

The setlist was exactly what you want out of an ABBA concert, and though I don’t know much of their more recent work, they provided a welcomed sense of variety. 

The lighting design was amazing, and the combination of real lights in the room connecting to the screens felt seamless. 

I also really adored the little interludes from the concert-style evening for a short film in 2 parts. The art style was beautiful and refreshing compared to the common style of animated films from Disney nowadays, and it also gave me a little chuckle to see a world where ABBA are worshipped like actual gods (not just gods of the music industry). 

What Wasn’t my favourite 

The centre screen which showed the band at a true to life scale was impeccable, but the close ups still sit quite solidly in the uncanny valley. There is something to be desired with facial expressions in CGI, where it seems the de-aging has also smoothed out their muscle movements, and there really is something missing behind the eyes. I don’t know necessarily that I look forward to the day I am easily tricked by CGI, but the uncanny-ness was something to get used to. 

Overall 

If you love ABBA music then you will have a fantastic time at ABBA Voyage. It sets out to reproduce an ABBA concert and it does a fantastic job doing so, and if I had slightly worse eyesight then I wouldn’t have any reservations! It is a marvel of technology and a really enjoyable evening.