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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Criterion Collection Customer Reviews (43 - 45 of 80 Reviews)

No loathing for Gilliam's tatty but enjoyable genius
They thought Fear and Loathing could never be made into a film - and to an extent, they were right. But Terry Gilliam's film is no turkey, rather a flawed classic. Transferring the crazy ramblings of the written page to the screen was obviously no easy task, but there are moments of genius here. The tone veers wildly from farce to horror - one minute Thompson is taking copious amounts of drugs, the next his companion is plunging into a mental nightmare as the narcotics take their terrifying effect. Depp and Del Toro are excellent in the two main roles, managing to anchor a film which could so easily have flown completely off the rails, but don't expect a nice easy narrative to follow. Criterion have created a lovely package, although the third commentary with the now sadly deceased Hunter S Thompson suffers from some terrible sound quality. The BBC feature is incisive, and there's a very interesting piece on who got the screenwriting credit plus an intriuguing alternate ending which is rather downbeat considering the previously madcap pace. It's also a pricy DVD, but then you sometimes have to pay for quality. In the end, it's about as near as anyone will get to putting Thompson's gonzo journalism onto the silver screen, and is 100 times more interesting than your average multiplex crowdpleaser. Don't think it's an easy ride though.

Gonzo's Gone...
Ye Gods the movie takes on a whole new meaning in the month since Hunter S. Thompson's suicide. Anybody familiar with the good Doctor knew it was a miracle he lived to the age he did. his death was a shock but then again not so, after all, Hunter was something of a fatalist in life. "Fear and Loathing" is a great adaptation of his most famous book, 7 years from the movie's release to Hunter's death. The fact that Johnny Depp and Hunter were good friends may play a role, but this is quite possibly Depp's best role! I am a fan of Depp and all his good roles, but his Hunter is dead on and although there is little known of "Dr. Gonzo"...Benicio Del Toro does a pretty amazing Oscar Acosta. Like all films adapted from great books, the book is usually better but this is a fascinating movie with career roles by both Depp and Toro, both amazing actors in their own right. Like the book, the movie is about as hallucinatory and zany and twisted as it gets, but comedy is what it boils down to. One of the funniest moments in the movie is the appearence of a pre Spider Man Toby Macguire rocking a " young guy bald on top long in back" 70's style hairdo. It's crazy this took 25 plus years to be made into a film, the REAL story is so much like a film anyway! Now with hunter gone this movie will make maybe a little more sense to those who may have otherwise liked it, but didn't "get it." R.I.P. Hunter you crazy Bastid

The American Dream?
Fear and Loathing is a phenomenal statement of American society and an outstanding glimpse of the early 70's, when "the acid wave reached it's high water mark". More so, Gilliam's masterful cinematic rendition of the book retained Thomson's unique intent.
Hunter S. Thomson wrote about life and his perspective of America. Fear and Loathing is indeed a drug-induced romp through Las Vegas, but its underlying theme is much more. Hunter S. didn't write this story to shock a few readers with the unfathomable antics of two seriously committed addicts, he wrote it as a slightly askew perspective of the United States.
Thomson (Depp), using his pseudonym of Raul Duke, sets out on an adventure with his mentally unstable "Lawyer" (del Torro) to search for the American Dream. Funded by a sports magazine to cover a motorcycle rally near Las Vegas, the unlikely pair abandons every law, rule, and regulation our country has set to keep the general populous safe. Swinging from drug to drug in a hazy binge that rivals any other, Hunter attempts to find the pulse of society and see if it's still alive. His conclusion is that... you'll see.
Over all, Fear and Loathing accurately captures the extravagant mayhem that a pair can cause in short period of time, all without harming anyone except an unfortunate mental-case (Riche) and the Insurance industry.
This movie is the extreme drug culture pushed to the limit, but it also reflects the absolute freedom a man can have, if he seriously commits himself to it.
If you want a detailed movie that takes you on an intellectual journey, this is not it. If you want to understand Thomson's idealized concept of himself and of the personal liberty we have, then look through the glorified drug use and self-destructive behavior and see what this story was meant to be. (one part of ) The American Dream.

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