Pop fans, take note. If you’re a KatyCat, the new concert film “Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live from Paris” is absolute catnip. If you’ve ever been to a Perry concert (raises hand), you know that you’re in for a treat. And even if you’re not a fan of the vibrant and campy music superstar, you will still have a ridiculously good time.
The film beautifully captures the raw energy of Perry’s sold out shows at Paris’ Accor Arena in November 2025, and it is exactly the kind of concert film that understands the assignment. Director Paul Dugdale goes big, colorful, and completely over the top. The film uses more than 60 cameras to shoot the performance from just about every possible angle, and the result feels less like watching a recording of a concert and more like being dropped directly into the middle of one.
And what a concert it is. Perry flies through the arena on wires, sings upside down, rides a giant winged creature, changes into one outrageous costume after another, and throws herself into elaborate choreography, pyrotechnics, and enormous set pieces. The staging is wonderfully bonkers, but that’s the appeal. There’s a genuine sense of playfulness to it all, and Perry commits to every ridiculous, dazzling second.
What I especially enjoyed were the behind-the-scenes glimpses and the sense of just how much work goes into pulling off a production this massive. There’s something unexpectedly revealing about seeing the machinery behind the fantasy. Love Perry or loathe her, it’s hard not to come away with a new respect for her stamina, discipline, and sheer dedication to putting on a show for the people.
The 60 camera setup is a major part of the film’s success. Dugdale doesn’t simply plant a camera at the back of the arena and let the performance play out, but the cameras swoop above the stage, circle the performers, and catch details that would be impossible to appreciate from a single seat in the audience. You get the stage spectacle, but you also get the reactions of fans singing along, dancing, screaming, and clearly having the time of their lives. There’s something infectious about watching thousands of people lose themselves in music that has become part of their lives.
I’m a fan and have seen Perry in concert multiple times, so I was probably always going to love this concert film. Still, I was surprised by how much the film gave me that familiar concert rush all over again. The kaleidoscopic costumes, the choreography, and the absurdly ambitious staging are all incredibly fun to watch, especially when the filmmaking makes you feel like you’re right there.
“Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live from Paris” is a really fun concert film. It’s flashy without apology, energetic from beginning to end, and completely committed to giving the audience a good time. Sometimes you just want to disappear from the world for a couple of hours and be surrounded by giant butterflies, glitter, pop songs, and 40,000 people having fun. For KatyCats, it’s a must. For everyone else, it’s a pretty irresistible invitation to have some fabulous fun.
By: Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots 