Metallica Through the Never

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.

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!!!

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!

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.

Before anyone starts going off-topic in the comments, yes, I'm a fan. I also understand the irony of starting with that statement. My point: this is a review of a cinema experience. An outstanding one. Made more exciting to me because it happens to be by and about my favourite band. This is NOT a discussion of the merits of said band's existence. Although it will strike a mighty blow for Metallica when those arguments do inevitably come up, hopefully elsewhere. Moving swiftly along...

This is just a truly mind-blowing sensory overload. Never has a band showcased their live performance with such an ambitious, technical, multi-sensory project. I wouldn't have even thought it possible. They don't just use the handy 3D technology to add gimmick to the next in a long line of live video releases. No. Metallica have pushed the boundaries of the technology itself, and added dimensions to what we see as possible within the realm of 3D cinema.

I had the privilege of chatting with Lars about this when they played some shows here in March, and he described it as their "attempt to truly showcase what they do and who they are." Man, does this emphatically succeed.

The stage is a kind of mutant super-setup, comprising video screens, pyro, tesla coils and the best parts of everything they've ever done in their live shows. As the audience, you're in/on/under/part-of the stage, alongside the band, in glorious 3D.

And, it's tasteful. In as much as Metallica at their tightest, hardest, loudest, biggest and fiercest can be "tasteful."

As for the little story within what is really the best ever technical and technological presentation of a rock concert, it's a lovely compliment to the energy of the performance itself. I don't wanna give-away too much, but as the show begins, a young roadie is sent on an errand. Things go badly (surreally and beautifully) wrong. It's not just exhilarating, but wonderfully interwoven with the songs and the "storylines" within them.

I'm proud to have seen Metallica live seven times. I count this as the eighth. And it probably ranks fourth amongst those eight live (or, in this case, damn-near live) experiences. Truly, truly mind-blowing.

Metallica have truly - and astonishingly - documented what they do and why they are the very best there's ever been at doing it.

Essential for fans, and absolutely worthwhile for all but the most hateful of heavy music in general. Bravo.