Review of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) by Melvin W — 27 Dec 2011

Raoul Duke: The possibility of physical and mental collapse is now very real. No sympathy for the Devil, keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride. .

"Four days, Three nights, Two Convertibles, One City.".

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is easily the most perfect adaption of a book ever done. I can't think of a movie that captures everything about the book like this one does. Terry Gilliam was obviously the perfect choice for directorial duties. Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro could not be better in their drugged out, over the top performances that the source material called for. Most importantly, it's Hunter S. Thompson, enough said. .

I've read a lot of Thompson's work(Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, The Rum Diary, Hell's Angels, etc.), but Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has always been my favorite. I've probably read ten times by now and it just never gets unfunny. That is exactly how I feel about the movie too. It just doesn't get unfunny. The reason, Deep's portrayal of Thompson. It is perfect in every way. If you haven't read the book, you'll probably think it is a little too over the top, but it really couldn't be more on the money.

Basically this movie is a man and his attorney in Las Vegas, where he is supposed to be covering a race. They bring a lot of drugs and are out of their minds all the time and begin to get extremely paranoid. The plot is all over the place when there is one. But if you've ever done drugs, you know that shit isn't straightforward when you're on them. Paranoia and hallucinations don't follow a plot line. They do whatever the fuck they want.

This is probably the best pure drug movie you can see. I say "pure drug movie" because it isn't about addiction or rehabilitation. This is like Cheech and Chong, but add more narcotics and hallucinogens, plus a lot funnier situations and actors. I would say this is a must see for Thompson fans, but every Thompson fan has already seen it twenty times.