Metallica Through the Never

Trip (Dane DeHaan) is a young skateboarding Metallica roadie. In the middle of the show, the road manager tells Trip to find one of their trucks that had run out of gas in the city. He needs to refill it and drive it back because the band needs something on the truck. Trip takes a pill and starts on a surreal journey into the night.

In the best tradition of music movies, this is a concert movie with a layer of imagination that immerses the audience in the experience. I'm not a big Metallica fan so the music has limited appeal to me other than 'Enter Sandman'. However, I'm sure that fans will love this and it matters very little what my review actually says. For non-fans, this won't be appealing because the music and concert footage is ever present. DeHaan is a terrific young actor and he's great in his limited part.

now, I'm quite the metallica fan, so naturally when i heard they were making a movie, i was psyched, confused by the trailer but still.

I watched it in 3d with all the overpriced sugar and toppings of today's cinemas, and it was truly a great experience. The sound was superb. But as to the actual movie, it was (a bit to my disappointment) almost entirely a concert. The 'story' about trip and his 'trip' has probably a total running time of 10-15 min. They said the were making a movie, they advertised it like a movie, so i imagined it wouldn't be 85% concert. It's a great concert though.

I gave it a 5 because i simply didn't know how to rate this. The fact is: if you love metallica and want to see a concert DVD with some interesting and surreal side story between songs, then you will love this and it would be a 7.5/10. But if you want to see a movie by J.Hetfield coupled with metallica songs, your gonna have a... well not a bad time, just not a very good one either.

Seeing Metallica on an IMAX screen in 3D and hearing them come through the amazing sound systems in IMAX....WOW, what a treat. If you are a Metallica fan DO NOT MISS this opportunity to see the best possible concert experience outside being there in person. The "move" aspect was a fun little adventure, but lets face it, I was there to HEAR Metallica on an amazing sound system.

The Audio was the highest quality best sounding I have ever hear Metallica (or any other band) in my entire life. The sound was loud yet crystal clear with the ability to hear each individual instrument as if they were performing right in front of you. It was astounding! You will not be disappointed in your ears. Watching this on IMAX you will understand why the MP3 format finally needs to die and we need a much higher quality sound format to do our ears justice! I'm desperately trying to find this album in 192khz FLAC, but no dice...guess I'll just have to wait for it on Bluray.

The 3D was equally as good. IMAX 3D is far superior to other theaters, you forget you are wearing glasses and you are completely immersed into the film. It's so crystal clear that it actually feels as if you are right there. IMAX 3D never fails to disappoint!

Bottom line, if you love seeing Metallica live GO SEE THIS "MOVIE"...it's spectacular!

I've just watched this and don't quite know what to make of it.

Whilst I love my hard rock and heavy metal, I'm not a massive fan of Metallica however I'd heard about this and wanted to check it out.

I must admit, I want to see them live now though! If this is an indication of their concerts and level of enthusiasm, I'm in!

The concert stuff was great. The effects were amazing. Just not sure about the tie in with the story. It was OK, but it didn't grab me by the big ones and drag me in. It could've been so much more perhaps (but not sure what!!!)

I'd suggest for the die-hard fans only....

Oh, by the way, watch right through the credits!!!

I have allowed a week to pass before writing this review, mainly so I can be a bit more critical than I would have been otherwise. After some time to absorb this experience, I stand behind most of my initial thoughts.

It rocks. Plain and simple.

Okay, so if you are not a Metallica fan and have nothing better to do than bash this film for being egotistical or lacking in plot or some other such nonsense, please save your breath. This is a movie experience designed for musicians and metal heads. Is it flawless? Absolutely not. Are there scratch-your-head moments? Yep. But is the end result worth it? One hundred percent!

The wraparound storyline seems a tad forced at times, but the imagery and scenery are a welcome break from the flashing lights and grandeur of the concert performance. Metallica prove themselves worthy musicians even after all these years. They also prove that there is a Metallica riff for any type of sequence you will ever encounter in a film. The song choices compliment the action perfectly, building an added layer of depth among a movie that is somewhat lacking in that department. Let's face it, this IS basically just a concert. Like it or not, you are paying to watch a performance first, subplot second.

As a musician, I was hoping for a bit more behind-the-scenes looks than were offered. I know that there must be numerous crew members handling sound mixing, guitar effects, lighting and set changes, all of which would have been an added bonus. (Although perhaps they choose not to give away too many secrets?) A few more camera shots of the fingers, particularly during solos, would also have been great, but I was certainly satisfied with what they offered.

Overall, tremendously mixed, well-imagined experience for anyone with even a remote interest in metal (or just good music). See it in IMAX while you can. It's cheaper than a true concert and you don't have to dodge a moshing mob of sweaty drunks. Well worth the price.

Also they play Orion during the credits. Enough said.