Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Absolutely Brilliant!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

No one is arguing about the rock ingenuity of Metallica, and if you're a fan like us, this docu is like walking on fire. If you think about it, in our daily lives, we spend at least 40 hours a week working with colleagues, some of whom are tolerable, some straight from hell, and if like me, you have a batting average of staying in a company for more than five years, the more I can imagine how it must have felt for them years in and out with the same crew. At one point contempt will just slowly sink in and then communication breakdown. If we can separate our idolatry of the band to seeing them as just human beings, then you'll be able to finish this docu. Who would have thought that the lyrical, devilish, energetic , stage and puppetmasters of rock will bare their hearts and souls whining about the tiniest, most insignificant things ? Personally I have difficulty understanding tough men imagos acting like they're made of marshmallow , definitely not monsters like the suggestive title but more like rescue kittens in a shelter and at one point with all the bitching -it almost became hilarious ( hey, but that's me ) . Luckily, they were able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and all's well that ends well. My love for the band didn't change but my husband's love for them , somehow.

Based around Metallica's turmoil of the early 2000s, "Some Kind of Monster" offers quite the spectacle for a documentary. After their slew of success through the 80s and 90s, Metallica hit a road block like a lot of bands do. Group in-fighting, fan resentment, people leaving, creative dullness, and that's what this captures. Following the making and release of their polarizing "St. Anger" album, the guys deal with a lot, the death of Cliff, Jason leaving for his side project, James going to rehab, the Napster fall out, and even each others egos. It never paints Metallica as this perfect entity, who's only problem is being too famous. It doesn't even go into how polarizing the album was, how it's considered by many to be their worst work, but this isn't about that, it's about their journey towards wholeness. Critiquing music in general is super subjective anyway, more so than film or video games, so I'm honestly glad they didn't focus on that aspect. I haven't actually heard "St. Anger" front to back, only a couple songs, but it's about people working through the problems they have, through the only medium that brings them together. I don't see what's so bad about that. As a Metallica fan through and through, this is a great gift, a great warts and all documentary about how hard it is to do what you love.

The tittle said it all! Im a huge fan of Metallica and I'm 40 years old, so i've been listening them since the very beginning. No doubt we are talking about the greatest metal band ever and a main fountain of inspiration for at least 10,000 other successful rock bands. But the Metallica of today is not Metallica anymore, they are using documentaries that are obviously prepared to make us think all the bullshit they were saying in front of the cameras was for real... and it was everything scripted. This so called "Documentary" was just an effort to promote themselves and a horrible album. It is just sad what Metallica has become... this guys talked more about cliff than Jason... AND FOR GOD SAKES METALLICA.... you got at the top of your Everest WITH JASON not with cliff (which was an impressive talented bass player)You can go outside and ask someone what is Metallica and they will tell you: "james, Kirk, Lars and JASON... not cliff ... so please let the poor guy go! Another thing that makes me sick in my stomach is to see how Lars was selling his art collection for millions of dollars in JUST ONE night... the same guy who was responsible of killing Napster. A millionaire complaining about other people getting thing for free.... what's the different between you Lars and some other Wallstreet magnate? Metallica is pathetic right now, their music seems to be over worked and this documentary is maybe one of the worst Rock documentary that i have ever seen.... were everything was scripted to makes us thing those guys are struggling to keep doing what they do... with all respect... that is just B...S..t

Of all words to describe this movie, sadness is probably the most accurate. We see Metallica as we've never seen them before, nothing would make you believe they used to be an awesome band. We see them slave for months and months on new material, going through depressions and fights and getting psychological help for their fear of failure. The sad thing is, listening to "St.Anger" just makes you realise it just really wasn't worth it. It's just a very bad, uninspired record. You can hear them forcing themselves, and that's never good. This is an interesting document, but it's also painful to watch, with Dave Mustaine's appearance as it's "highlight". The way it captures a band in desperation is truly brilliant.