Metallica: Through the Never

Metallica: Through the Never
220px A promotional poster for the film
Directed by	Nimród Antal
Produced by	Charlotte Huggins
Written by	Nimród Antal James Hetfield Lars Ulrich Kirk Hammett Robert Trujillo
Starring	Dane DeHaan James Hetfield Lars Ulrich Kirk Hammett Robert Trujillo
Music by	Metallica
Cinematography	Gyula Pados
Edited by	Joe Hutshing
Production company	Blackened Recordings
Distributed by	Picturehouse
Release dates	September 9, 2013 (2013-09-09) (TIFF) September 27, 2013 (2013-09-27) (United States)
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$32 million
Box office	$21,196,967

Metallica: Through the Never is a 2013 American IMAX thriller concert film featuring the American heavy metal band Metallica. Its title is derived from the song "Through the Never" off the band's self-titled 1991 album. It follows a young roadie, Trip's (Dane DeHaan) surreal misadventures intercut with concert footage shot in Vancouver and Edmonton in August 2012. It uses a unique premise of no dialogue or narration in the film's entirety with the exception of Trip's supervisor and the band. It was the first feature released by the revived incarnation of the Picturehouse marquee, which had been shut down since 2008.

Plot

Amid aerial footage of Vancouver and BC Place stadium, a radio DJ publicizes Metallica's concert. An overweight heavy-metal fan drives into the empty parking lot, which makes no sense for a sold out show only hours away, and climbs on the car's hood, whooping and laughing. Trip (Dane DeHaan), a roadie for Metallica, skateboards past the fan and wipes out. He skates into the underground parking lot and down the dressing-room halls, encountering each of the band members. When he gives a brown paper bag to his supervisor, Trip is told to stick around. After standing in the arena, he walks away as the audience files in to Metallica's traditional opener, "Ecstasy of Gold".

The band begins performing, and during "Creeping Death" Trip's boss tells him to bring gas to a stranded truck carrying "something very important". Before driving his van, Trip takes a blue-and-red capsule.

As Metallica begins "Fuel", Trip drives down deserted streets. Distracted by his map, he runs a red light and sees a bloody hand print on an illuminated sign. He is T-boned, and his van flips.

Trip crawls out of the van, peers into the other car and calls to the driver (who is standing with his back to him). The driver glances at Trip, and runs past him down the street. Trip retrieves the gas tank, the map and a doll with a noose around its neck from the van. He wanders down a street, and a police horse drags a dead officer across his path. People run past him, ignoring him, followed by police cruisers (one of which is ablaze). Emerging in the middle of a street, Trip realizes he is between a motionless group of rioters and riot police. The rioters then become rowdy, and when the police throw tear gas they swarm over them. Stunned by the violence, Trip stands in front of a window (which then shatters).

A rider in a gas mask on an armored horse charges, wielding a sledgehammer. He lassos a rioter, hanging him from a streetlamp. Trip throws a brick at the rider, who gives chase. Trip loses the doll, but escapes through a wall of rioters.

He walks down a deserted, littered street, under a dozen bodies hanging from a pedestrian bridge. Trip finds the truck he is looking for in a deserted parking-garage corridor, but the driver (a middle-aged man) is traumatized and does not notice him. The back of the truck contains a leather bag, which Trip opens; he slumps, speechless.

He sees a figure waving at him from a distance. The rider approaches the figure, and a group of rioters surge past them. Trip grabs the bag and the can of gas, jumps out of the truck and flees.

He is cornered at the end of an alley by the rioters. Trip ties a black bandanna around his mouth, puts up his hood and drops the bag. He douses himself with the gas, sets himself ablaze and charges the rioters, who eventually overwhelm him.

Trip wakes up (to "Enter Sandman") on the roof of a building; his lost doll, now animated, approaches the leather bag. As Trip gets up, he is lassoed and pulled onto the rider's horse. He grabs the rider's hammer to free himself and slams the roof with it. Shock waves rumble across the city, shattering glass and the exteriors of surrounding buildings and disintegrating the rider and his horse. The reverberation affects Metallica's concert, cutting the power and knocking down lighting trusses. With a backup generator, the band continues the concert without pyrotechnics and a light show.

Trip returns to the deserted stadium with the doll and the bag under his arm. The credits roll to scenes of the band performing "Orion" to the empty stadium. Trip takes a seat; the final shot is of the still-closed leather bag.

Cast

• Dane DeHaan as Trip, a roadie and the film's mostly silent protagonist
• James Hetfield as himself – lead vocals and rhythm guitar
• Lars Ulrich as himself – drums
• Kirk Hammett as himself – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Robert Trujillo as himself – bass, backing vocals
• Mackenzie Gray as concert manager

Release

The band made a surprise appearance in Detroit at the Orion Music + More Festival under the name Dehaan, after lead actor Dane DeHaan, to promote the film by playing their debut album, Kill 'Em All, in its entirety.

Through the Never made its world premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

The film was released in IMAX theaters across the United States on September 27, 2013, the 27th anniversary of former Metallica bassist Cliff Burton's death, before being rolled out to normal cinemas in 3D the week after (October 4).

Reception

Reviews of the film were positive. The film has a 78% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus states: "Imaginatively shot and edited, Metallica Through the Never is an electrifying, immersive concert film, though its fictional sequences are slightly less assured."

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film "a full-throttle expression of rock & roll anarchy", and encouraged readers not to understand the plot, but to "live" it.

Peter Rugg of The Village Voice writes that the film is "the most immersive concert film ever."

Chris Tilly of IGN delivered a positive review as well, stating that it "features several truly incredible live performances that are worth the price of admission alone. Metallica fans will love the music, while everyone else can enjoy the amazing visuals in this unique concert movie."

The film was nominated for a Grammy for Best Music Film and won a distinguished achievement award from the International 3D & Advanced Imaging Society in the "Motion Picture Documentary" category.

Despite widespread praise from critics, the film was a flop, grossing only $3.4 million domestically.

Music

Main article: Metallica: Through the Never (album)

The film's official soundtrack was released on September 24, 2013, via Blackened Recordings. It charted in several countries and was nominated for a Best Recording Package Grammy.

External links

• Official website
• Metallica Through the Never at IMDb
• Metallica Through the Never at Box Office Mojo
• Metallica Through the Never at Rotten Tomatoes
• Metallica Through the Never at Metacritic