Lemmy

"Lemmy" (sub-title: "49% mother@#$%er, 51% son-of-a-@#$%") is an engrossing documentary about the life and times of Motorhead bassist/frontman Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, one of the more unique figures in rock and roll. His band, of course, is legendary, and till now Lemmy has been a rather mysterious figure. He has never been one to seek the spotlight or grab tabloid headlines, and seems content to simply do what he does and remain "under the radar" to everyone but his devoted fan base.

The film follows Lemmy around during his day-to-day life (recording sessions for Motorhead's 2007 "MOTORIZER" album, gigs with his '50s/rockabilly side band The Head Cat, appearing on the "Loveline" radio show, and holding down his customary bar stool at Hollywood's Rainbow Bar & Grill) while an extensive parade of rock and showbiz royalty (including such luminaries as Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue, Slash and Duff of Guns N Roses, Henry Rollins, Scott Ian of Anthrax, all of the members of Metallica, actor Billy Bob Thornton, tattoo artist Kat Von D, and Marky Ramone, just to name a few) all confirm what most of us knew already: that Lemmy is one of the coolest, most bad-ass rock & roll mo-fo's ever to walk on God's green Earth. Interviews with the man himself reveal him to be a man with rock 'n' roll encoded in his DNA. This is a guy who saw the Beatles live in Liverpool before they even had a record out, who roadied for Jimi Hendrix, and made his mark in the legendary space-rock band Hawkwind before going on to infect the world with Motorhead. Underneath all that, though,he's a pretty simple guy who lives alone in a small Hollywood apartment, doesn't put on airs and doesn't put himself on a pedestal. His vibe seems to be, more or less, "this is me, this is what I do, if you like it, fine...if not, go to hell." A mix of current and vintage Motorhead concert clips keep the volume level up and prove that even after nearly 35 years, Motorhead remain a force to be reckoned with in the live arena. He's a true national treasure.

Even if you're not a Motorhead fan (and if you're not, shame on you!) "Lemmy" is a fast, funny, and totally entertaining profile of a man who's definitely a true original.

The film I felt really captured the essence of who he is what he is about and how he go's about doing what he does. When you watch normal doc's the interviews feel stale and bland, but everyone in this film is almost worshiping at the altar of Lemmy Kilmister and as well they should. It follows a nice flow throughout and does a great job of covering his early career and life up to what he is doing now. A portrait of a every day man who just happens to be an extraordinary musician. If you don't know who he is you should watch this and get to know him a bit. The best part is that none of it get's cheesy and overly sentimental. It's just him and that's it.

Do you love Lemmy?? No, nor me. Or at least, I didn't before I went to see this documentary as a brownie-points concession to my metal-head boyfriend.

Now I think Lemmy is AWESOME! Still don't like metal or Motorhead, but that is really irrelevant because this film is so engaging and its subject so endearing, original and wonderful.

I knew little about Lemmy apart from the cowboy hat and the warts. But my heart was truly warmed - both by him and by the loving regard that fellow giants of metal apparently hold him in.

The man's a total one-off and on that basis alone, this documentary is well worth seeing.

I still hate metal but even if they're only indifferent to the music I think most people would love this film. And if you're a fan already, then it's absolutely unmissable.

Before I start I better confess right away that I am a huge admirer of Mr Kilmister, his music has branded me since I was a kid, his legacy is present everywhere around the modern Rock scene.

This is exactly with what this film starts and where the excitement may take its path, BUT, I'm not reviewing Lemmy as a person but a film portraying a human being. After the first 15 minutes I was in mood, I was hungry to know more about someone that inspired millions of people. But the more the film moves on the more it becomes clear that the people who made this film are obviously die hard fans. This is not a bad thing, but unfortunately it leads to this impression of "Hey, didn't I just hear that same statement out of another mouth with other words about 5 minutes ago?" - The news factor decreases steadily and the repetition factor grows with every minute of this documentary.

After about an hour I was a little skeptical on how this film is supposed to end. Yes, it's nice to see him meet, talk (about), perform and socialize with lots of other giants of the Rock industry - but even that becomes a little repetitive as this documentary continues. I thought "Ok, I got it, this guy is god, stop reminding me!" - In fact it's Lemmy himself who "downs" most of those glorifying statements with really grounded responses that reflect the wisdom that he has gathered during the years of his stunning career.

Long story short: Lemmy Kilmister is not just an amazing musician, he's a great person too. But it doesn't take 116 minutes to make that clear. Lemmy is simple, maybe that's what makes him so great, but this film tries to stretch that over almost two hours and to be honest, this becomes quite boring.

Why 7 out of 10? Because "Lemmy" has its/his moments for sure. The most interesting thing about it is the fact that as a viewer you don't start distancing yourself from Lemmy but rather coming closer to him in a very natural way. If that is what the makers intended -> applause! Still I believe that 70 minutes would have done that too.

Being as I was a part of the London metal community in the seventies and eighties, a Hawkwind fan in my youth (saw them a few times in '72 and '73) and a Motorhead fan right from the beginning (I managed to catch their first few live shows in 1975 or whenever), I was, I guess, right at the front of this movie's core audience. Not even I, though, could have hoped for a more complete and more satisfying experience as the movie turned out to be!

Having had the privilege of spending time with the great man himself on a number of joyous occasions, I can happily report to any interested parties that 'Lemmy' is as honest a portrayal of the man as you could possibly hope for. He is exactly as this movie shows him to be, and that alone is enough reason for anybody - metal head or not! - to make the effort to see it. There is - and there will only ever be! - one Lemmy. Thank god (or maybe the other fella..?) that somebody had the balls to make this movie so that we may all cherish it in the years to come.