I saw Stray Kids: The DominATE Experience last night (Feb 4, 2026; ”early access” showing) and I did not get a chance to see the tour when it was in the United States of America. So, I was coming in with my only exposure to the tour being fan-shot videos at the barricades through the nosebleeds.

Overall, this film is very, very good both for fans who attended the concert or wanted to experience what it felt like to be there. It does an excellent job of recreating the concert-going experience rather than simply documenting a performance. 

COLOR GRADING

In my opinion, one of things that stood out the most to me was the color grading. In an era where a lot of films are insistent on you being unable to tell what is going on, the coloring deserves special praise. The film was visually vibrant, energetic, and fun, and there was never a moment where I struggled to see the members clearly in terms of lighting and coloring (the shot choices are something I will get into later, trust me). 

TRANSITIONS

One of the first ‘member’ transitions is where they essentially ‘glitch’ Bang Chan out of the end of ”소리꾼(Thunderous)” and into the interview chair for a “have you ever been to one of our concerts?” moment. This was an amazing transition and it was noted immediately in my little notebook. However, this made later transitions, particularly Felix’s first transition using the face-glitch red-name effect, feel slightly out of place by comparison. 

Of course, all the member transitions for their documentary interviews followed the same format of Felix’s, however, that initial transition concept with Bang Chan was strong enough that its inconsistency stood out later. That said, the interview transitions in and out are very visually strong and I enjoyed trying to guess when a new interview would pop up (typically every 3-4 songs). I do wish that if the flipbook concept was going to be utilized throughout, as it was for the ‘closing’ right before the encore and a few other points, it may have been a better throughline for that beginning transition to follow the flipbook. 

SOUND AND MUSIC

From a sound perspective, the film felt mostly on-par with what the most ‘neutral’ experience would be for a fan. At times, the crowd noise overtook the music, which mirrors the real fan experience, especially for K-pop concerts, where fan chants and screaming are a major part of the atmosphere. That said, there were a few moments where I wished the sound mix had slightly reduced the crowd volume so the members’ vocals came through more clearly. This wasn’t a consistent issue, just something noticeable in a handful of moments that made me wish for a slightly different mix. While the film is meant to be the experience of the concert I think it is a little more important to prioritize the performance over crowd ambiance.

The background music choices during interviews were more hit-or-miss. While I understand the intention to pull from Stray Kids’ catalog, as they often do for their YouTube content, the song selections felt disconnected from what the members were discussing. There were several interviews where I noted the background music choice as questionable (quite literally with question marks after the song in my notes). Once I finished the film, I was even more confused by the choices as they didn’t seem to have a common theme other than the songs being from the general discography. Solo songs weren’t used at all from my notes, some unit songs were used on members not even in the unit, and some of the full group songs used did not match what was being said in the interview (why was “거미줄(VENOM)” in the background of Changbin’s interview?). 

EDITING

The editing style was generally strong but somewhat inconsistent. Certain sections clearly reflected individual editors’ stylistic preferences, such as heavy use of warped or diagonal shots. While these weren’t inherently bad, they made the film feel less cohesive as a whole. That said, the editing worked exceptionally well during high-energy, hype songs, where the pacing and shot changes amplified the excitement. This helped in making you feel the excitement and flashy energy of the concert.

INTERVIEWS AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES

The interview segments were largely enjoyable, and I appreciated that each member shared insights connected to the tour and their journey as a group at large up to this point. Some interviews felt more cohesive and thoughtfully integrated than others, and there was noticeable variation in length. Lee Know’s interview, in particular, felt significantly shorter, though this may be attributed to Lee Know not being much of a talker when it comes to interviews (especially since it is unclear if the director was asking questions in English for all of them as they did for Bang Chan, who was the only member who had the director’s question audibly included) and me not being able to time well. I also enjoyed the inclusion of archival footage and references to earlier tours with clips from their MANIAC tour and a few other performances being spotted.

It was a fun ‘Where’s Waldo’ aspect to see behind-the-scenes content from other content they have put out in the past. I noted a few clips from some of their INTRO content. They also included a small amount of content from practices and backstage of the tour, but it was rather small in inclusion. However, I would have loved more from that aspect, such as the tour’s creative process, stage design, AR visuals, or production planning. Given that Stray Kids are known for documenting much of their process, it feels like there was potentially more material available that didn’t make it into the final cut. Even a small increase in this “DVD extra”-style content would have added depth without overwhelming the concert experience.

SHOT CHOICES

The vast majority of the shots in this film are fantastic. It is clear that a lot of thought went into how they would frame all 8 of the members during a lot of the ‘bigger‘ elements of the show, showcasing the pyrotechnics, and spotlighting members as they sang or rapped. I loved the usage of different angles and of moving shots. This film is definitely a step-up from most live recorded performances. I really loved the way the unit songs (“Truman,” “Burnin’ Tires,” “ESCAPE,” “CINEMA”) were shot and put together; each one felt unique to the unit and Changbin and I.N’s button press bit was lovely.

Unfortunately, one of the film’s biggest weaknesses was its overuse of crowd shots, particularly during major title tracks and dance breaks. Dance breaks are moments where fans want to see full choreography and group formations, not other fans. While crowd shots were used very effectively later in the film, especially during fan interactions, the songs on the moving carts, and the encore, earlier placements felt disruptive. In one instance, the camera lingered on a wide shot of the members walking upstage for an extended period, which I felt would’ve been the perfect time to cut in some crowd footage, rather than in the middle of a dance break or an important singing section.

Additionally, some crowd shots during moments when members held microphones out for fans to sing were poorly selected. If my notes and my memory serve me correctly, the ones that were the most jarring were at two different points for the members Bang Chan and Seungmin. Instead of showing engaged fans singing along, the camera occasionally focused on audience members who weren’t singing, which unintentionally undercut the moment and made it feel awkward rather than communal. This may have been a footage limitation, as I have no clue what footage they managed to get at the show, but it stood out as a missed opportunity.

I want to make another quick note that there were several times where I was familiar with the choreography through other videos and knew that some shots had cut off moments from the show that many fans had documented. Two examples that I have written down are Felix’s small solo dance move at the end of “Back Door” and HAN’s dance with the backup dancers during “사각지대 BLIND SPOT”. I’m sure there are many others that STAYs can fill in as well.

There were standout moments of close-up cinematography work—such as a long, uninterrupted close-up of Lee Know during “Cinema” (I believe during the first verse/hook)—that was excellent and allowed us to really sit with him as he sang. With how important ending fairies are in K-pop performance videos, I would’ve loved to see the close-ups utilized more, especially with the high-quality 4k (probably higher) camera footage.

Some of the stylistic choices, particularly the retro-inspired elements (the camcorder shots), were aesthetically pleasing. While I don’t think all of them fit seamlessly into the film’s narrative structure, I still enjoyed them visually. The visual play with shots and effects was the most memorable for me with Hyunjin’s interview. It may have been more effective overall for the ‘camcorder’ filter to be used on older clips rather than footage of the concert audience.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Stray Kids: The DominATE Experience is a fun and immersive watch, especially for fans who didn’t attend the concert. While certain editorial, audio, and structural choices could have been refined, the film very successfully captures the energy, emotion, and scale of the tour. It’s an experience that largely succeeds in celebrating both the group and their fans. I would absolutely recommend it to STAYs everywhere, all around the world.