The Doomstar Requiem came out way back in 2013, and it left me wanting so much more. I, like many other fans, was livid when Adult Swim announced that Metalocalypse would not be getting another season, and repeatedly mocked the show's devoted fanbase afterwards. Little did any of us expect that something bigger and better was in the works: a feature-length movie.
I rewatched the series several months ago, but have kept it fresh in my memory. And boy, did it fully pay off. This finale was sparse with the gore that the series has become well-known for, but it made up for it in plenty other ways. For instance, it was the most story-driven Metalocalypse has ever been. We still get some of Dethklok's usual goofy antics - like being disruptive in a solemn church sermon - but it's clear that even the notoriously dull-witted band is finally starting to take their role seriously. The trauma and depression they're undergoing after rescuing Toki is portrayed in a surprisingly realistic light, without being senselessly bleak.
It really hurt to see Knubbler die. He had been with us since the second episode of the series, and I'm still not over seeing him be consumed by a wall of fire. Contrast that with Roy Cornickelson sacrificing himself in the second to last episode of season 4 and it has a much greater impact. Likewise, seeing the Metalocalypse finally take place was not a direction that I was expecting they would actually take. I was expecting that it would be averted. Instead, we get a brief but hard-hitting scene of metallic meteors falling from the sky and carnage occurring across the globe.
Salacia is suitably horrifying, and feels the least human he ever has. He obviously never has been human, but here, he's a horror straight out of the pages of H. P. Lovecraft. The scenes where he assumes a tenebrous form with yellow eyes to corrupt and possess Murderface are chilling.
If I had any complaints it would be that they act like the band has met General Crozier. They've been in the same vicinity as him, but they've never actually met. Also, Vater Orlaag has a considerably reduced role and an unexplained grudge against Offdensen (whose role, despite being a fan favorite, is also fairly minimal until the end), and is killed off rather anticlimactically, as was Salacia himself. Finally, the Dr. Rockzo scene was clearly just thrown in there so that Rockzo could make an appearance, because it doesn't go anywhere and he never shows up again.
A big part of the comedy throughout the series is the band's irrational hatred for their fans, which they even made a song about, but at the end, Nathan gives a heartfelt thank you to the fans that has a lot of subtext in reality. It feels like Brendon Small thanking the fans for sticking with Metalocalypse all these years, even after the show's disappointing cancellation. THAT is how you do a finale. Well worth the $20 I paid to watch it on Vudu.
I rewatched the series several months ago, but have kept it fresh in my memory. And boy, did it fully pay off. This finale was sparse with the gore that the series has become well-known for, but it made up for it in plenty other ways. For instance, it was the most story-driven Metalocalypse has ever been. We still get some of Dethklok's usual goofy antics - like being disruptive in a solemn church sermon - but it's clear that even the notoriously dull-witted band is finally starting to take their role seriously. The trauma and depression they're undergoing after rescuing Toki is portrayed in a surprisingly realistic light, without being senselessly bleak.
It really hurt to see Knubbler die. He had been with us since the second episode of the series, and I'm still not over seeing him be consumed by a wall of fire. Contrast that with Roy Cornickelson sacrificing himself in the second to last episode of season 4 and it has a much greater impact. Likewise, seeing the Metalocalypse finally take place was not a direction that I was expecting they would actually take. I was expecting that it would be averted. Instead, we get a brief but hard-hitting scene of metallic meteors falling from the sky and carnage occurring across the globe.
Salacia is suitably horrifying, and feels the least human he ever has. He obviously never has been human, but here, he's a horror straight out of the pages of H. P. Lovecraft. The scenes where he assumes a tenebrous form with yellow eyes to corrupt and possess Murderface are chilling.
If I had any complaints it would be that they act like the band has met General Crozier. They've been in the same vicinity as him, but they've never actually met. Also, Vater Orlaag has a considerably reduced role and an unexplained grudge against Offdensen (whose role, despite being a fan favorite, is also fairly minimal until the end), and is killed off rather anticlimactically, as was Salacia himself. Finally, the Dr. Rockzo scene was clearly just thrown in there so that Rockzo could make an appearance, because it doesn't go anywhere and he never shows up again.
A big part of the comedy throughout the series is the band's irrational hatred for their fans, which they even made a song about, but at the end, Nathan gives a heartfelt thank you to the fans that has a lot of subtext in reality. It feels like Brendon Small thanking the fans for sticking with Metalocalypse all these years, even after the show's disappointing cancellation. THAT is how you do a finale. Well worth the $20 I paid to watch it on Vudu.