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Metallica
Some Kind of Monster |
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| Starring: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammet,
Robert Trujillo Directed by:
Joe Berliner, Bruce Sinofsky |
Theatrical Release: 2004
DVD Release: 2005
Released by: ParamountDolby Digital
5.1
Fullscreen |
| The Other Side
of Rockumentaries -- The Wrong Way to Tell the Story If I tried hard, I might be able to remember a less competent movie about
rock’n’roll than Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story (Paramount *), but
one does not spring to mind. Unlike the documentary Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster,
this film is a docudrama, which uses actors to re-create the story of the band. The first
signal that something is out of whack is the quality of the long-hair wigs worn by the
actors who play the band members. You can almost see the spirit gum holding them in place.
The producers did not care enough about details. If you are going to do a movie bio of an
‘80s hair metal band, you should, at a minimum, get the hair right.
Def Leppard came from Sheffield, an English
steel-manufacturing city, but the band might as well be from California for all the sense
of place this movie conveys. Although the members began playing in the late ‘70s,
there is no indication, except for a brief remark disparaging punk rock, that there is any
musical or cultural turmoil going on outside the band’s rehearsal hall. Perhaps that
is appropriate, since Def Leppard was essentially a pop band with loud guitars. The most
energetic moments in the film occur when Mutt Lange, nicely played by Anthony Michael
Hall, comes in to guide the band through its recordings.
The story of drummer Rick Allen’s comeback after he
lost his arm in a car accident is inspiring, and the likable actors do a good job within
the limitations of the script. If you are a Def Leppard fan and this pops up on VH1 (which
produced it for television), it’s a harmless way to kill 90 minutes. Well mastered,
the DVD contains, mercifully, no extras.
...Joseph Taylor
josepht@hometheatersound.com |
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Although Metallica was financially successful at that
point, other things were not going so well. Jason Newsted, the bass player since 1986, had
just left over a disagreement with vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield. Lars Ulrich, the
band’s drummer and Hetfield’s songwriting partner, alienated fans by very
publicly going after Napster -- a fit of bad faith in a music culture that celebrates
rebellion. Hetfield and Ulrich, now middle-aged family men, were struggling with their own
clashing egos. The atmosphere within the band was so tense that its management brought in
a therapist, Phil Towle, to get them back on track.
It takes a few minutes of the film to shake your memories
of This Is Spinal Tap. When Towle recites a series of platitudes to set some ground
rules for the band’s first session, he sounds like a satirist’s version of a
therapist. But Hetfield’s scowl and his tense interaction with Ulrich dispel any hint
of lighthearted fun. At the center of the film is the struggle between these two
hardheaded musicians and the ways it affects guitarist Kirk Hammett and others in
Metallica’s circle.
The most complex figure in the story is Ulrich. Behind the
drums he’s a craftsman who tries to bring everything he can to a song, but he
approaches the band and its work with a cool head. At a recording session, he looks at the
computer screen displaying the waveforms for each digital track and he’s like an
accountant staring at a ledger. Hetfield is as determined as his partner is, but he often
gets his way by stomping off in a fit. At one point during the recording, he leaves for 11
months to check into rehab.
Eventually, Hetfield and Ulrich come to terms and finish
the CD successfully. Hetfield has to struggle with being middle aged and sober when his
fans are still looking to him for youthful swagger. Producer Bob Rock has to maintain the
trust of a group of guys he seems to like while keeping them focused on getting product
out to an impatient record company. In one of the film’s funniest and most disturbing
scenes, Metallica struggles with a promotional ad their management forces them into doing
for a radio network (Rock later tells them he can’t imagine the Edge or Bono being
asked to do it). That scene, along with several others, brings rock as big business into
sharp focus.
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster features vivid
sound, smart editing, and a generous amount of worthwhile bonus material. |
