20140509: Documentary Review--Metallica Through the Never

Metallica Through the Never

Rob Trujillo

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. American live action feature length film, 2013, NR, 92 minutes, documentary, music, heavy metal.
2. IMDB: 7.3/10.0 from 8,349 audience ratings.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 78% on the meter; 78% liked it from 11,871 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.9/5.0 from 12,828 audience ratings.
5. Directed by: Nimrod Antal.  Written by: Nimrod Antal, Kirk Hammett, and Lars Ulrich.
6. Starring: Dane DeHaan as Trip; as themselves: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo; Kyle Thomsen as The Rider.


2. Setup and Plot
1. This is a two-layered film.  There is the live action concert footage, then there is a fictional layer about Trip the roadie.


2. The camera work was crisply shot with excellent equipment and was brilliantly edited.  The sound was seamlessly joined to it.


3. Some of the most powerful moments for me were when the thousands of audience members sang the choruses in unison, while the band listened and encouraged.  I wished I had been there.


3. Conclusions
1. If you like heavy metal in general, or Metallica in particular, see this one.
2. One line summary: The live action concert footage was great; the contrived side-plot, not so much.
3. Four stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 10/10 Inventive and of professional quality; excellent camera crew and film editing.


2. Sound: 10/10 The sound quality and editing were great.


3. Acting: 7/10 Loved the live action concert performances. James Hetfield is quite the showman. The icing from the Trip video did not add anything.  Fortunately, the sound editing moved across those parts without a hitch.


4. Screenplay: 7/10 Fortunately, the live action concert footage was dominant.  I liked the lasers and pyrotechnics, plus the way the props crew constructed huge pieces while the band continued.  The so-so fictional sub-plot about the roadie, Trip, was less interesting.