It's sad to see people laugh at or defend against criticism of Metallica; the very same band that has told its fans that they don't care about anything except your money.
If you love propped-up studio bands who are incapable of playing the majority of their songs live, Metallica is a great choice. Commercial success is not the equivalent of great musicianship.
Lars Ulrich has been the laughing-stock of metal-drumming for many, many years, and he hasn't improved at all. You can see and hear the same fundamental flaws in his technique that existed in the early '80s.
Watch the live performance of "One" at the 1989 Grammy Awards; it's a travesty. It's sad to see Ulrich struggling to hit the double-bass strokes near the end of that song. Watch a live performance of "One" in 2008; it's even worse depending on what clip you watch. He never has been able to consistently hit alternating foot strokes, triplets, paradiddles, hand/foot roll techniques, etc., because he's easily one of the worst drummers in metal history. Quite frankly, if you think Ulrich is a quality drummer from a fundamental point-of-view, you're delusional.
A band is only as good as their live performances, and Metallica's are consistently abysmal. If you enjoy paying a premium to watch half-assed attempts at 25-year-old songs, more power to you, I guess.