Metal Lords is a heartfelt coming-of-age story as a trio of teens struggle to navigate the social challenges of high school
Kevin and Hunter (Jaeden Martell and Adrian Greensmith) are long-time friends looking for a way to fit in during the tenure in high school. Kevin joins the marching band to avoid physical education and Hunter becomes a heavy metal obsessed musician, certain it will lead to a better life.
This is a script from D.B. Weiss, yes, the co-creator of Game of Thrones, who surprisingly navigates the world of Gen Z high schoolers with an adept understanding of teenage angst.
Hunter sees a way to a better life through metal and a victory in the up-coming battle of the bands. Kevin, at first, is just along for the ride, and later, has an appreciation, lifestyle, and mindset Hunter preaches for all things metal.
Enter Kevin’s love interest Emily (Isis Hainsworth) who also aims to make their musical duo a trio.
This is a story that creates a journey for its three main characters that, ultimately, has a predictable and inevitable outcome, but it is one the viewer wants, and hopes for, and will be happy to experience.
It’s a formula that has been done time-and-time-again from one generation to the next in the world of film, but Metal Lords does it well. We care about the characters. There is an innocence and relatable charm that resonates even in the movie’s most ridiculous moments.
The characters and relationships in Metal Lords feels similar to those in Stranger Things Season 4 — well, if you strip away the supernatural, government plots, and just let a band of misfits live life as they try to fit in.
What Metal Lords lacks in originality it most certainly makes up for in sincerity as it progresses toward its only possible and predictable outcome.
Jennifer’s Grade: B+
