My Metallica days are far behind me - and going even further, I really only liked their '90s sell-out period. I felt the need to offer that as a preface, so take this review however you wish.
The best scenes in "Some Kind of Monster" happen in the studio, where the band is actually working. The problem inherent in this documentary is that it profiles the band while they're in therapy, and those scenes are the absolute worst. I wanted to slap both James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich for coming off as selfish children, and it happened constantly. Hey, I'm glad that Hetfield got the help that he needed and the band is still around; that's great. But these two and their inarticulate whining come very close to sinking the whole thing.
The film kicks up when they actually start looking for a bass player to replace Jason Newsted, and in Robert Trujillo they find a four-string beast and a ray of hope for the future. Despite my displeasure with the talking scenes, the people behind this documentary did an impressive job maintaining my interest and keeping things watchable. With these characters, I think that says a lot.
The best scenes in "Some Kind of Monster" happen in the studio, where the band is actually working. The problem inherent in this documentary is that it profiles the band while they're in therapy, and those scenes are the absolute worst. I wanted to slap both James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich for coming off as selfish children, and it happened constantly. Hey, I'm glad that Hetfield got the help that he needed and the band is still around; that's great. But these two and their inarticulate whining come very close to sinking the whole thing.
The film kicks up when they actually start looking for a bass player to replace Jason Newsted, and in Robert Trujillo they find a four-string beast and a ray of hope for the future. Despite my displeasure with the talking scenes, the people behind this documentary did an impressive job maintaining my interest and keeping things watchable. With these characters, I think that says a lot.