Starring: Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo
A young roadie (Dane DeHaan) works for legendary metal band, Metallica (Hamett, Hetfield, Trujillo, Lars Ulrich) and is given the task of carrying a can of gasoline to another location. On the way, he ends up in an accident caused by a large riot that he soon discovers he's right in the middle of. Meanwhile the band plays a blistering set including the likes of "One", "Enter Sandman" and "Master Of Puppets".
Anyone who has followed the lengthy and turbulent career of Metallica knows that this is not the band's first trip onto the silver screen. In 2004, the documentary Metallica Some Kind Of Monster looked at the long and difficult process behind their album, St Anger and proved how scarily true to life the classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984) truly was. This time around, Metallica are the subject of a concert film...of sorts.
Throughout the film we're given a subplot of a skater caught in the middle of this slightly fantastical riot. This isn't the first time a rock band has made a concert movie that makes a note of deviating away from the main performance. Led Zeppelin's 1973 film, The Song Remains The Same trod a similar path but in the case of both films the sequences detract from the focus on the music; the reason why most people pay to see these kind of films. The sequences are well shot and, in their own way, interesting enough that it would've been intriguing to see the plot as a standalone film. However, Metallica are also animated enough in their performances (especially bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Lars Ulrich) to maintain focus in their own right. Even when the band themselves get involved in a little bit of drama towards the end of the set, it just doesn't work.
Through The Never is getting a wide release in 3D and playing on IMAX screens and whilst the 3D is completely unnecessary the thunderous music makes full use of an immersive sound quality that IMAX provides. Make no mistake, your ear-drums will be in for a beating. The film won't win anyone over to being a Metallica fan and its clearly built with just the fans in mind. Fans themselves will probably enjoy the audio and the band capering onstage, but it's probably no worse if you skipped the film and bought the accompanying live album instead.
Next time, Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth play star-crossed lovers in Julian Fellowes' adaptation of Romeo And Juliet.
No comments:
Post a Comment