The story of a band piecing themselves back together is compelling, even though viewers experience little jeopardy; the sumptuously shot concert footage – often jump cut with work-in-progress studio scenes – and ecstatic crowd reactions from their first Sao Paolo stadium show indicating from the get-go that this particular saga ends in success.
Which makes it strange that the omission in this Mission: Impossible is any band reaction to the fan backlash that followed both the general decision to carry on, and the specific one to appoint Emily, given controversies over her past.
In the end, it doesn’t really matter: the band weathered that storm and the film captures Emily blossoming from nervous competition winner to stadium-commanding badass.
But that one evasion in an otherwise unflinching film means Unshatter must be categorised as merely a very good rockumentary, rather than an absolute classic. After all – as Mark Hoppus and his goosebumps might point out – Unshatter successfully captures all the small things, but somehow misses one of the big ones.
Verdict: 4/5
Linkin Park: Unshatter is out now via CJ 4DPLEX / Trafalgar Releasing.