Disc Reviews

Metallica Through The Never Blu-ray 3D And Blu-ray Review

• 28th Jan 2014

Metallica Through the Never is a film created for IMAX 3D in 2013 and now released for home viewing on Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray. The film is a curious mix of a typical concert movie and a post-apocalyptic nightmare story that intermingles with the concert. The film is directed by Nimrod Antal probably best known for directing the Predators.

The concert is a recording of several shows played by Metallica at Edmonton and Vancouver in 2012 on a special stage made for the movie. The stage itself is a wonder to behold with incredible effects built into the stage show, showcasing the themes and backdrops of Metallica albums through the years. We see actual lighting produced by massive Tesla coils hitting the electric chair of Ride the Lightning, a massive ‘Doris’ the Lady Justice statue which breaks down to pieces on the stage, the Master of Puppets crosses popping up on stage, coffins with video screens showing people trapped within from the Death Magnetic and many more familiar themes for Metallica fans.

The set list on the film is a little hard to pin down, but the songs you hear at least mostly played through are:

• Creeping Death
• For Whom the Bell Tolls
• Fuel
• Ride the Lightning
• One
• The Memory Remains
• Wherever I May Roam (intro only)
• Cyanide
• …And Justice for All
• Master of Puppets
• Battery (first verse only)
• Nothing Else Matters
• Enter Sandman
• Hit the Lights
• Orion

The songs are very much played and edited to fit the film, so many of them are shorter and often cut out of in the middle into the story. This can be infuriating at times if you are expecting to just be able to watch and listen to Metallica play. The visual and sound recording are amazing and with a decent sound system there is a real danger that your neighbours will also be listening to Metallica as you watch the film. There are some typical ‘3D’ moments which look a little out of place watching it on a normal Blu-ray but nothing excessive.

The story part of the film follows a roadie/fan of Metallica named Trip and played by Dane DeHaan who will be playing the Green Goblin in the up and coming The Amazing Spider-Man 2. We see the story begin with the silent protagonist arriving at the concert and walking through the backstage. Quickly Trip is sent away to pick up a mysterious bag which leads him on a crazy journey through a city which has fallen into anarchy. Amongst the mayhem and destruction he encounters a gas-mask wearing rider with a huge hammer whom he ends up fighting to ultimately bring the bag back to the concert. Meanwhile, the strange goings-on are also affecting the Metallica concert we are trying to watch with initially microphones and lighting rigs misbehaving, and then a full blown chaos of the stage breaking down with one stage-hand on fire and another falling down from the ceiling. Hit the Lights is then played with just a small setup which gives a nice contrast to the excesses of the main stage of the concert.

The story part has almost no dialog. The visuals of the story part are great and create a nice horror atmosphere, but there really isn’t enough of it to make it a film on its own. The film is then about 85% concert but as mentioned above it doesn’t really work great for just watching Metallica either due to the short songs and the cutting out from it into the story. In the extras there is a music video for Master of Puppets done with most of the story and that actually works much better. In it the story gets the majority of screen time and therefore comes together more satisfyingly. There are plenty of other interesting extras to watch as well, including a making-of, film festival Q&A’s and lots of interviews with the makers, director and actors as well as Metallica of course.

Metallica Through the Never must have been a great experience in an IMAX cinema in 3D, but at home it can’t quite reproduce the desired effect. Although the sound and visuals are still amazing you are essentially left with a concert length music video. This is certainly something that Metallica fans should watch but I can’t hand on heart say I will want to watch it again. Concert videos are best when they make you feel like you are there, but the sounds in Through the Never are so cleanly recorded that you hardly hear the crowd and the frequent cut outs to the story somewhat take you away from the moment. I also can’t help the feeling that I would have enjoyed more seeing the full concert with the amazing stage and then watching the short horror film separately with a Metallica soundtrack.

Having said all that, the final instrumental song Orion played to the empty arena once the mysterious bag has been returned is a beautiful moment and makes you think the bag somehow represents the late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. So by the time the credits finished rolling, despite the frustrations of it, as a fan of Metallica I couldn’t say I hated the movie either.

Marko Hyypia