Rock groupies will love this epic-sized documentary from directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (Brother's Keeper, Paradise Lost), which finds the members of the legendary heavy metal band struggling with personal demons, internal rivalries, and creative hang-ups in 2001, after the group's longtime bass player has left, and the remaining three musicians try to regroup by going into the studio. But continuing tensions add another person to the troupe: a therapist hired to help them work through their problems (ultimately, the trio overcome obstacles, hire another bassist, release a new CD, and are feted on an MTV tribute program). The picture thus has a triumphant narrative arc, but the band still comes across as a supremely dysfunctional musical family with an almost ludicrous sense of self-importance (the film may be intended as a portrait of creative suffering, but Metallica's endless whining may irk even their most devoted fans). Of course, the filmmakers are seasoned and clever guys who are adept at setting up dramatic confrontations and capturing embarrassing moments, and the material involving the overeager therapist is actually quite funny, but in the end it seems much ado about surprisingly little. Optional. [Note: DVD extras on this double-disc set include two audio commentaries (one by Metallica band members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Rob Trujillo, and Kirk Hammett--on the road during their 2004 Madly in Anger With the World tour; the other by filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky), 28 additional scenes with selected filmmaker commentary, “This Monster Lives” (13 additional scenes with insights correlating to Berlinger's companion book), a Sundance press conference featuring the band's live satellite feed from Australia (15 min.), Sundance Q&A session (5 min.), featurettes from the San Francisco International Film Festival (11 min.), the New York premiere (6 min.), and the NYC “Metallica Club Screening” (4 min.), a montage music video for the titular song “Some Kind of Monster,” text bios of Berlinger and Sinofsky, and trailers. Bottom line: a whopping extras package for a technically impressive, but underwhelming documentary.] (F. Swietek)
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
Paramount, 141 min., not rated, DVD: $29.99, Jan. 25 Volume 19, Issue 6
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
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