Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Metallica Through the Never Blu-ray Movie Review

"You know what to do. Good boy."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 3, 2014

What begins as a live concert film starring a roadie named Trip (actor Dane DeHaan, The Place Beyond the Pines, The Amazing Spider-Man 2) tasked with delivering a can of gas across town soon becomes a surreal, hallucinatory journey across a hellish cityscape ripped straight off a thrash metal album cover. Burning buildings. Fleeing crowds. Faceless riot police. A throng of homicidal, Mad Maxian anarchists. Blood. Gasoline. Mayhem. Ultra-violence. Hangings. A gas-masked horseman hellbent on Trip's destruction. And that's just the beginning. As the concert draws closer and closer to a fever pitch, with frontman James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Lars Ulrich turning in a performance any band would kill for, Trip's fight for survival begins to fray and unravel, growing more bizarre the farther he pushes into the chaos. By film's end, Metallica stands triumphant and Through the Never proves its metal's mettle, even as director/co-writer Nimród Antal's (Armored, Predators) story sequences are revealed to be as arbitrary and abbreviated as they are visually arresting.

"I do what they tell me. I go where they send me."

Part of what makes Trip's adventure outside of the Vancouver arena ultimately a bit underwhelming is that the concert itself is so ambitious and enthralling. During "Ride the Lightning," a series of Tesla coils circling an enormous electric chair descend from the ceiling and fire high-voltage bolts of electricity that arc above the band and audience. A specially trained crew erect a 35-foot statue of Lady Justice -- live, mid-show -- just to destroy it and watch it topple to the ground. The stage floor is comprised of screens that track each musician on the fly and under-light him with individualized animations and effects. Hanging screens flash even more video footage. Fireballs and flame towers ignite at regular intervals. Giant, smoke-wrapped crosses erupt from the floor. A sword rises from an enormous toilet bowl. One crewman is lit on fire as another plummets to the ground. A truss explodes, sparks fly and equipment falls from the rafters onto the stage. And Metallica gives their all with every twist and turn.

Trip's journey, meanwhile, is granted weight by DeHaan's near-silent performance, but tends to struggle, fizzle and confuse, particularly by its climax, which involves a walking puppet-talisman, a disintegrating rider and a super-powered, war-hammer-wielding roadie. Perhaps if the story sequences were more substantial, or if Trip's travels earned more screentime, the "film" portion of Metallica's concert film would be more gripping and satisfying. As is, though, Trip is in a tug-of-war the band -- I suppose rightfully -- wins. If Trip were the focus, fans would scream, "where's the live performance!?" With Metallica front and center for 90% of the movie, the question arises: "why weave an off-site story through the concert in the first place?" The result is a glorified music video strung across a feature-length concert. Not that Metallica fans paying to see the band will care. They'll get their fill, and then some. Five stars all around. Cinephiles and more casual fans will wonder why there isn't more of DeHaan, and react with more indifference.

Through the Never includes the following songs:

1. The Ecstasy of Gold
2. Creeping Death
3. For Whom the Bell Tolls
4. Fuel
5. Ride the Lightning
6. One
7. The Memory Remains
8. Wherever I May Roam
9. Cyanide
10. And Justice for All
11. Master of Puppets
12. Battery
13. Nothing Else Matters
14. Enter Sandman
15. Hit the Lights
16. Orion

Metallica Through the Never Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Through the Never's 1080p/AVC-encoded 2D presentation impresses, both on the stage and off. Beams of light, sparks, flashing video monitors, lasers and belching flames are vivid and white-hot, while vibrant swaths of blue, green and purple douse the band and crowd. Skintones are nicely saturated, black levels are satisfying, and delineation is quite good. Detail also delivers, although not with the consistent crispness or clarity you might expect. Softness, artifacting, noise and other minor, infrequent eyesores creep into the concert, as do other anomalies tied to a few low-res, steadicam shots; all attributable to the various cameras and source photography, sure, but a bit distracting all the same. Outside of the arena, Trip's journey steals the show. Darker and more cinematic than the stage show, Antal's war-torn cityocalpse looks great, with deeper, richer hues, an earthier palette, more refined edge definition and more exacting fine textures. Fewer issues plague the story sequences, and close-ups are more revealing. All told, Metallica fans will be most pleased.

Metallica Through the Never Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Through the Never's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is angry, aggressive and loud, just as it should be. The LFE channel latches onto Trujillo's bass runs and Ulrich's drum beats with thundering tenacity and low-end ferocity; the more the music surges, the more the crowd roars and the more hell erupts in the city streets. The rear speakers are full and rowdy, spreading the cries of Hetfield and Hammett's guitars, the screams of their fans and the noise of the arena across the entire soundfield, making for an immersive, ground-pounding, ear-piercing concert. (Did I mention Through the Never is loud?) Hetfield's throaty vocals are as clear and carefully prioritized as they could be, as are the brief, and I mean brief, bits of dialogue that grace the story segments. Even when the cameras follow Trip, it's Metallica's music that remains front and center at all times; the film bits never dominate the soundscape, despite the macabre madness and surreal post-apocalypsing that goes down. Non-thrash metallers may be left rubbing their temples and popping two Excedrin Migraine, but the louder and louder it gets, the more ecstatic and amped up Metallica junkies will become.

Metallica Through the Never Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making of Metallica Through the Never (HD, 77 minutes): The 2-disc set's supplemental package opens with a feature-length production documentary that follows the development of the concert film from gestation to completion. Highlighted are the original meetings and brain-storming sessions with the band, concert producers and filmmakers; the blood, sweat and tears that went into creating, implementing and perfecting the sometimes gigantic stage props and showstoppers; scripting, casting and shooting the story sequences; the dozens of performances that led up to those used for the film; and much, much more. Especially noteworthy are the band members themselves, who provide candid, rather insightful commentary on the process, production and performances.
• Cast & Crew Interviews (HD, 10 minutes): A more promotional featurette that covers some of the same ground as the "Making of Through the Never" documentary, which already offered a full complement of interviews with everyone featured here.
• Interviews with the Sound & Music Team (HD, 10 minutes): Ditto here, as key members of the sound and music crew chime in with a few additional thoughts on Metallica, Through the Never and the production.
• Mill Valley Film Festival Q&A (HD, 29 minutes): Dane DeHaan and director Nimrod Antal join James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo and Lars Ulrich for a Q&A in September 2013 after the premiere of the film. The session is presented in its entirety, with quite a few tidbits and anecdotes that went unshared in the documentary and featurettes.
• Orion Festival 2013 Film Tent Highlights (HD, 53 minutes): A second Q&A, this one longer and hosted by Ulrich, with participants that range from Antal to producer Charlotte Huggins and other members of the film and concert crew.
• Music Video (HD, 9 minutes): "Master of Puppets," featuring scenes from Through the Never.
• Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2 minutes): The film's somewhat misleading theatrical trailer, which makes it look as if the story sequences starring DeHaan are a much larger part of the concert film than they actually are.

Metallica Through the Never Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Those expecting more "film" from Metallica's experimental concert film will be disappointed to learn the ambitious, surreal side story starring actor Dane DeHaan is short and scattered. Those looking for a bit of music video flair and a few cinematic flourishes while watching the band do what the band does best, though, will be pleased to hear the story segments aren't the primary focus. Fortunately, whichever way you lean, the concert delivers and Metallica puts on one helluva show. As to the film's Blu-ray release, the disc's video presentation is strong, its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track shreds the heavens, and its supplemental package is quite extensive, adding more than three hours of content alongside the feature film (all in HD no less). All in all, if you have any love of Metallica, you'll love Through the Never and its Blu-ray release.