Coming back after a decade hiatus, expectations of this movie were going to go against it to begin with, sure. I think most of us would have settled for any resolution, but it's moreso HOW they chose to tell it and what they focused on that made this movie feel off, especially compared to the spectacular Doomstar Requiem.
Metalocalypse's original draw was its humor, with plenty of music and metal subculture/in-jokes to be extra endearing to those who took notice. The world plot is really not that important. Ironically, the whole "the band is central to the fate of the world" plot originated as a joke because of the funny dissonance that came with 5 low-IQ hedonistic narcissists being so central to world affairs. Sure you had a few hardcore, dramatic moments like Offdensen's arc or Nathan's eulogy that added some relishable gravity to the series, but for each of these moments there were a dozen or so jokes to keep the show from insisting it was some relationship drama anime that it never built the foundation to stand on.
The movie opens and the humor already misses the mark. Traumatized by the rescue of Toki, the bandmates repeat the F word over and over in an interview in some bit that wouldn't even have been that funny in a 2000s flash cartoon. (This is also where Jon Hamm has his cameo. Despite his top billing, his character is mostly irrelevant and has under 10 lines). From here on, there are very few attempts at jokes, and most didn't land for me.
If you've ever had the misfortune of reading Youtube comments or loading a Tumblr page, you'll come across this weird fan meta narrative that the band is a family. Cutesy artworks and narratives about Nathan being "band dad," Pickles the band mom, Toki the baby, and so on. The movie actually tries to incorporate this... REALLY awkwardly and uncomfortably. In more than a few scenes, especially the opening, they very inorganically have Pickles acting motherly and like a spouse to Nathan, going so far to have Toki cry like an infant in a public place. No idea if the writers thought these fanfic people comprised the general fanbase or something.
After bucking that, the movie goes onto almost exclusively focus on Nathan. This is not about the band like the last movie or couple seasons were; it's about Nathan's personal growth, development, and interaction with loved ones and music... you know, the guy who for years was just a comedic dumb ape whose entire life philosophy was just adhering to cartoonish "brutality..." they felt prudent to make sure he learns his moral lessons and to love again. It came across very forced and inappropriately saccharine in many spots. I'd say the only character who gets a somewhat reasonable and in-character ending is Murderface, who did get a pretty solid payoff for the cliff-hanger at the end of Requiem. Yeah, the final conclusion they arrive on with him was a bit cheesy and too dissonant a mix of "it has to have heart, but it also has to be funny," but at least it's something. The other three bandmembers get basically no arc beyond what they can provide Nathan.
The pacing of the whole thing is very weird. There is a lot of "oh yeah, we did that previously, now forget about it" in Act I, meandering in Act II, and great haste to wrap everything up in Act III. This story felt like the movie needed to be double the length, or spread out over a final season. To its credit, most major characters get a resolution, but some, including the main antagonist, are swept off the screen just as quickly as they arrive. I will say Knubbler's role was a great exception, a fine mix of silly and serious that gave his character a fitting resolution.
Other than those overarching criticisms, I can't say it was offensive to watch. I'm continuing to listen to Dethalbum 4, which I don't like as much as 2 or 3 but it's growing on me. I don't think the score was as grand or memorable for this as Requiem, especially considering the "Song of Salvation" was supposed to be worthy of saving the world. The animation in this is probably its strongest asset. They really broke out the big guns not just for the movement but the art direction as well. The scene of Murderface's climax looked almost out of old-school Disney.
Overall, I don't think making this movie for those invested in the originally-satirical plot or the Tumblr people was the best move. It was meant to be a finale for the SERIES and the core fans, not just a checklist for the plot points. It needed to be longer and mapped out better, with stronger flow and more self-awareness of just how goofy the core premise is. I don't know if the writers thought that the plot of Metalocalypse was what had the most fans invested, or if they just lost taste for what the show used to be over 17 years and wanted to make something more serious, shoehorning that tone into their old material.
The Doomstar Requiem was a much better approach: putting the music and main characters centerstage, not caring so much about why they're there or if the "lore" is satisfied, plenty of gags, and a couple heartfelt moments just as icing instead of the cake. It serves as a more true series finale to me than Army, which I'd just give a tepid recommendation if you REALLY need to know what happens to the world and all the characters.
