So last night me and a bunch of friends had the opportunity to go see a pre-release screening of the heavily-hyped Metallica: Through the Never in 3D. This was organised by a local radio station. Apparently we were some of the first non-media people on the planet to see the thing, so cool, I guess.
So, for those interested, I figured I’d share my thoughts and some insights as to what this is all about.
I will try to not spoil too much though, but, the nature of the production really, in my opinion, does not lend itself to not spoiling anything. So rather, if you’re planning on seeing the film, and don’t want to know too much about it, or be confronted by spoilers, rather stop reading now.
From what I gather the concert footage for the film was shot in Canada a while ago. The premise of the film is that there’s a roadie that gets tasked with finding a truck containing an item the band will need during their show that night. However, this is communicated to the chap in the middle of the band’s first song. So, off he goes. From here the roadie’s night out and Metallica’s performance during this time is inter-cut.
At its core, this is a concert film. The stage show Metallica puts on is truly something to behold. Money is clearly no object to these guys. There’s just so much going on during the concert and every song they play has something memorable happening during its performance, from the Tesla-coils firing lighting above the stage, to the crosses raising out of the stage during Master of puppets, there’s lots of eye-candy production-wise going on during the stage-performance parts. The only real gripe is a relative cookie-cutter reproduction of the last 20 minutes as seen in Cunning Stunts towards the end of this new release. Think destruction scene and whatever occurred after.
Considering James Hetfield turned 50 this year, these guys still kick some mean ass. The playing is spot on and sounds excellent. However, with these productions you never know how much time is spent in-studio fixing up sections, or fixing up sound reproduction to make it sound excellent. Regardless, it sounds great and about as big as Metallica’s sounded live in ages.
The set-list is pretty much your run-of-the-mill Metallica classics. If you saw them live in SA recently you’ll know what I am talking about.
So on to the other part: the roadie’s story. Now, I understand Metallica (again) trying to do something different, but I really do not see the merit of the roadie’s mission. Sure, it’s brilliantly shot with some awesome, moody sections, fueled by Metallica’s music, but at the end of it all you kindof feel that it may have been better to just have left the “story” part out of it. The only real reason I can honestly fathom them wanting to add something like this in is to appeal to a new generation that cannot appreciate watching a band on stage, on a screen. So you get this sense that “we had to add a story to keep people entertained/interested”. Sure, like mentioned, it’s cool, and kinda weird. But at the end of it all you ask yourself “so what was all that for?”
Despite the relatively strange "story" which really does not add anything to the overall production, I found the film really awesome (yes, I am a Metallica fan). Imagine James holding the mic out to you, in 3D. Awesome!!! If you’re a fan, go see it!! Hell, if you’re not a fan, go see it. It releases on 27 September and will only be showing locally for a week.
So, for those interested, I figured I’d share my thoughts and some insights as to what this is all about.
I will try to not spoil too much though, but, the nature of the production really, in my opinion, does not lend itself to not spoiling anything. So rather, if you’re planning on seeing the film, and don’t want to know too much about it, or be confronted by spoilers, rather stop reading now.
From what I gather the concert footage for the film was shot in Canada a while ago. The premise of the film is that there’s a roadie that gets tasked with finding a truck containing an item the band will need during their show that night. However, this is communicated to the chap in the middle of the band’s first song. So, off he goes. From here the roadie’s night out and Metallica’s performance during this time is inter-cut.
At its core, this is a concert film. The stage show Metallica puts on is truly something to behold. Money is clearly no object to these guys. There’s just so much going on during the concert and every song they play has something memorable happening during its performance, from the Tesla-coils firing lighting above the stage, to the crosses raising out of the stage during Master of puppets, there’s lots of eye-candy production-wise going on during the stage-performance parts. The only real gripe is a relative cookie-cutter reproduction of the last 20 minutes as seen in Cunning Stunts towards the end of this new release. Think destruction scene and whatever occurred after.
Considering James Hetfield turned 50 this year, these guys still kick some mean ass. The playing is spot on and sounds excellent. However, with these productions you never know how much time is spent in-studio fixing up sections, or fixing up sound reproduction to make it sound excellent. Regardless, it sounds great and about as big as Metallica’s sounded live in ages.
The set-list is pretty much your run-of-the-mill Metallica classics. If you saw them live in SA recently you’ll know what I am talking about.
So on to the other part: the roadie’s story. Now, I understand Metallica (again) trying to do something different, but I really do not see the merit of the roadie’s mission. Sure, it’s brilliantly shot with some awesome, moody sections, fueled by Metallica’s music, but at the end of it all you kindof feel that it may have been better to just have left the “story” part out of it. The only real reason I can honestly fathom them wanting to add something like this in is to appeal to a new generation that cannot appreciate watching a band on stage, on a screen. So you get this sense that “we had to add a story to keep people entertained/interested”. Sure, like mentioned, it’s cool, and kinda weird. But at the end of it all you ask yourself “so what was all that for?”
Despite the relatively strange "story" which really does not add anything to the overall production, I found the film really awesome (yes, I am a Metallica fan). Imagine James holding the mic out to you, in 3D. Awesome!!! If you’re a fan, go see it!! Hell, if you’re not a fan, go see it. It releases on 27 September and will only be showing locally for a week.
