Dearest Blog, today I used my recovery day from the Nine Inch Nails concert to catch Metallica's latest big-screen venture, Through the Never.
Spoiler level here will be mild, and, truth be told, there's not a lot to spoil.
During a Metallica concert, a young man (Dane DeHaan) is charged with collecting "something the band needs tonight," but finds the task is more challenging than he could have imagined.
Lots of people release 3D concert films these days, and I get pretty tired of seeing trailers for Katy Perry, One Direction, Kenny Chesney....... Wait...what? Sorry, I dozed off just typing that bit. Anyway, it's nice to get a big-screen outing from a band that's actually worth seeing. Make no mistake, Through the Never is no more than a concert film with a little extra mustard on it, but what a concert film it is!!
Any plot is merely a side note to an explosive Metallica show. The story is interesting enough, without being distracting. DeHaan spends 90 minutes looking confounded, terrified, and higher than someone in a Cheech & Chong film...sometimes all at the same time.
There are extras aplenty, but his is really the only character to speak of, and he carries the scripted part of the movie well.
There's no backstage BS in Through the Never, no Katy Perry explaining how her Christian upbringing prepared her for a career crooning trite pop songs while dressed as a PG13-candy striper.
Outside the trippy clips of DeHaan trying to accomplish his chore, there's just Metallica, Metallica, and more Metallica. Top hits like Enter Sandman, One, and Nothing Else Matters are complimented by old favorites Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and my favorite Metallica song, Creeping Death. I had the theatre to myself today, and I'll cop to throwing the horns and yelling, "Die! Die! Die!" along with the onscreen crowd.
The 3D is good without being obtrusive. Nothing flies off the screen at you, but it definitely feels like you're front row for Metallica's big sets and big sound. This movie is a good time x 12.
Metallica Through the Never runs a quick 93 minutes and is rated R for "some violent content and language."
Metallica Through the Never is a fantastic concert film that, for my money, could have been two hours longer and still seemed short.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, I can enthusiastically give it all nine.
And, if you were lucky enough to catch this in IMAX 3D,
I hate you. I really hate you! ;-)
Horns up, dear reader(s)! Until next time...
\ m/
