A&E

New Metallica movie drops a concert inside a sinister story

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Metallica: Through the Never” is far from the average concert flick.
Jeffrey M. Anderson

Four stars

Metallica: Through the Never Dane DeHaan, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo. Directed by Nimród Antal. Rated R. Opens Friday.

Though it looks and sounds like a regular concert movie, albeit in IMAX and 3D, the entirety of Metallica: Through the Never is staged as part of a sinister, spooky story. Director Nimród Antal runs through a thunderous stage show of favorite songs, adorned with disquieting effects, such as coffins with video images of people screaming to get out, a crumbling … And Justice for All statue and various accidents and explosions. Meanwhile, a roadie (Dane DeHaan) is sent on a mysterious mission to retrieve “something the band needs.” At first, he finds only eerie silence and ominous signs, followed by slowly escalating violence. Though the movie is nowhere as deep and revealing as the great 2004 documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, the visceral effect is like that of a great horror flick, a mix of thrumming adrenaline and breathless dread.

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