Review of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) by Dillinger P — 29 May 2014

Part 2, in the Hunter S. Thomson adaptations and its a whirl wind of trips, chaos and fun bundled neatly into 2 hours of viewing pleasure. With Terry Gilliam at the reins now, we have someone who understands how to get the most from Hunters material, proof of this is not only shown through his visual style but in his casting choices, Johnny Depp is as perfect as it will ever get, he even went and became friends with the legend himself and lived in his basement to prepare for the role.

So Fear and Loathing thrusts us straight into the action with Raoul Duke and Dr Gonzo, Depp and Del Toro, high tailing it through the desert, high on drugs and with a one way ticket to Vegas. It's through careful narration and flashbacks we see what prompts the couple to go on this assignment, which starts out as a press job covering the desert motorbike race and ends up in a demonic game of cat and mouse, where the pair become so self destructive in each others company, they only serve to destroy one another.

It is a marvel to watch, the cast, Depp and Del Toro just knock it out the park, in previous years Bill Murray played the doctor of journalism, well, but Depp just mops the floor with him, living the character and who better to play off than Del Toro, a wicked, threatening and crazy atourney.

There are some lovely cameos from Penn and Teller, Cameron Diaz, Gary Busey, Hunter S. Thomson, Flea and Christina Ricci, all of which are splendidly wild and play their parts well. There are more but I dont wish to spoil the whole lot.

This film is wickledly fun, the cinematography relishing in the hallucinagenic thrill rides this combo go on, from blending floors into people, warping faces and turning a room of people into reptiles to using its location to its advantage, with a large portion of the film set in the Casinos of Vegas at one point Depp recalls "This is what the world would have been like had the nazi's won the war".

Its a visual feast and the sound, oh my, the soundtrack is excellent from Jefferson Airplane to one toke over the line, its all running in the films favour and gives it a timely sense. Much like any film there are a few weakeness's, if you could call them that? The movie is 2 hours and although this isnt a monutmental amount of time, its a lot to get through with the hijinks being so confusing and wild, leading me on to my second point, a lot of first time viewers will walk away completely confused about what just happened.

This movie is not for everyone, one should say it takes a certain type of person to understand this mental genius. However if you can last the pace, by yourself or with friends, this film is a rip roaring trip you will find yourself taking again and again.