| | Review Date: Director: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky Writer: Producers: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky Actors: Lars Ulrich as himself, James Hetfield as himself, Kirk Hammett as himself, Bob Rock as himself |
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It’s obvious that the main issues in the band are between those two members, and a lot of that has to do with control, manipulation and head games. Kirk Hammett, the only other remaining founding member of the band always seemed like a sweet, dimwitted guy before, and not surprisingly, comes off exactly as that here– although a little more dimwitted than I imagined (his motto always seems to be “Let’s all just get along”) Dimwittedness aside, the man also seems to be the only one in the band who’s got half his shit together, and even more importantly, his ego in check. I detail the three members of the group because those are essentially the folks that you spend over two hours with here, along with their long-time producer/friend Bob Rock and a creepy/cult-like therapist, who starts off like he’s there to help, but ultimately seems to be around solely to justify his own existence and “need” to the band. One of my favorite scenes comes near the end of the movie, in which Hetfield lets loose on the shrink. That said, from what I’d heard about this documentary, I expected a lot more in-fighting and “fuck yous” on camera, but didn’t get as much of that, as I did tension, misunderstandings and a couple of slammed doors. I liked the film on the whole, because it just goes to show how everyone, no matter how rich, successful and long they’ve been together, might require outside help once in a while, and it’s commendable that even these “heavy metal rockers” slipped out of their own egos to allow themselves to be taped so nakedly. And speaking of naked…the “session” with original Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine has got to be one of the most pathetic things I’ve ever seen…poor, poor guy…he’s STILL not over the fact that he was cut from the band over 20 years ago!
More stuff with their families and friends would have helped fill in the gaps of their behavior/personalities a little better though, as opposed to the constant shots of the weirdo doctor sitting around pretending to enjoy their music. Where were their wives in all this? Have they no say in the lives of their husbands? I also think the film ran a little too long, with a little too much emphasis on the “good doctor” and his continued cockypock theories, some of which just sounded way too “Zen” and goofy for anyone to take seriously. I really loved the frank talk between the members though, as well as the many recording sessions and the way they showed their creative process at work. Nearing the end, the “search for a new bassist” was also fun, as were the sequences featuring the band actually playing their great music-my fave being the first song they play with Robert Trujillo, the new bassist, called “Battery” (and how about their opening offer to the man “How’s a million dollar advance sound?”Awesoooooome!) Some of the earlier stuff between Ulrich and Hetfield is also hilarious, especially after Hetfield comes out of rehab a “changed man” and has to abide by certain regimented rules, and suddenly seems to be turning into a big-ass nerd, as opposed to a cool-ass rock ‘n roller! Hetfield’s visit to his daughter ballet recital is also a gas. And what’s up with Ulrich’s dad and his fuckin’ kickass beard? Nice! That said, I really didn’t get a great sense of “closure” for either Hetfield or Ulrich at the end of this thing (although their stances certainly did come closer), but the rest of the guys seem like they’re gonna be okay – especially the bassist who left the band to actually go and play “music” elsewhere. Nice move! All in all, an intriguing study of an extremely popular heavy metal band and their personal issues.