Freak Power: The Battle of Aspen

I really loved Fear And Loathing In Vegas, where Johnny Depp did a remarkable job playing Hunter S. Thompson. That movie can not be compared to this one though as Fear And Loathing In Aspen is more biographical than pure entertainment. Jay Bulger also did a very good job playing Hunter S. Thompson. That's the best thing about this movie. The story is also interesting to follow. I just wished the quality of the cinematography would have been better. That was in my humble opinion the weakest point of this movie. Plus some actors were just not that good either. That said it's worth a watch but I don't really need to watch it again. Fear And Loathing In Vegas on the other hand I can rewatch several times.

A well researched and written portrayal of actual events , many liberties were taken to enhance the story to keep it moving . Screenplay was enjoyable comes across entertaining without going overboard with the " Raul Duke " character but keeps true to Hunter S Thompson " the man " . Cinematography , Editing and Set Locations all were enjoyable , as a fan of this era of Thompson I would recommend. For someone with no background or references, it could be lost . Jay Bulger plays Thompson with a beautiful charisma that at times had me lost wondering if I was watching a documentary or scripted cinema.

While this movie might not take a serious look on the time period of which Hunter S. Thompson ran for sheriff in Aspen but I still had quite a fun time watching this movie. While the acting isn't great in this movie I wouldn't call it bad acting, it's pretty average and I have seen a lot worse, and while Jay Bulger's take in HST isn't my favorite his performance did grow on me and it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the movie. I think my biggest issue with this movie is how some of the characters were written, specifically with the characters opposing Hunter, some of the characters were ok but some of them felt and acted like the people who were trying to prove that the Ghostbusters were fakes. Other than that I don't see much reason to not watch this movie if you get the chance. If you want a more serious and factual look on this part of Hunter's life I recommend a documentary called "Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb". But overall I do recommend this movie, especially if you're a fan of Hunter S. Thompson. While I don't think its better, I also don't think this movie is much worse than "Where the Buffalo Roam". I may be bias towards this movie but why not just watch the movie it's not gonna hurt ya.

This isn't a film about Hunter S Thompson. It is a film about Aspen and the end of the old west, as told though the Battle for Aspen. What Thompson's campaign was all about. When the film stays on point it is pretty good and actually does show the conflict that still exists today in Aspen over development and wealth instead of community. But it is hard to fill a two hour movie with only that theme, so there's a lot of filler showing the details of the campaign.

I have always been a HST fan and have read nearly all his books and seen all the movies based on the books or about HST in general. He has a style that is very difficult to take from paper and put on the screen but this movie takes a shot at it and for the most part succeeds. First of this is not Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a wonderful movies btw, but rather this movie has a more straightforward plot, that being Hunter's run for sheriff in Aspen in 1970. It is based on his articles in rolling stone (called the battle for aspen) detailing his campaign to unite the freaks and outcasts of aspen to get rid of the corrupt politicians that are selling their paradise to land developers. Its almost the plot of any of those bad 1980s ski movies about the evil developer coming to town and the people coming together to fight against it, only in this movie hunter carries a gun and the freaks dont win.

HST is a notoriously difficult character to portray correctly, he has such distinct mannerisms in how he talked and interacted with people, and it doesnt help that the previous attempts were delivered by hollywood heavyweights like murray and depp. But i have to give bulger credit for getting the essence of HST and not going too overboard. I do wish we got to see more character development and especially more interactions with his family because if youve read his works you know there was a lot of family drama going on at this time as well that we dont get to see in the movie. Anyway bulger's acting is solid enough to keep you entertained about the character and his shenanigans (like dumping contaminated water on the city council floor,) and there were occasions, like the speech at the end after his team lost the election, that really nailed the angst and ennui of the late 60s and early 70s. All in all, this movie is more direct and straight forward than Where the Buffalo Roam and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as it follows a single linear story line about the run for office, but it is still weird enough to capture the essence of HST. I was engaged for the entire movie (even knowing what was going to happen) and found myself laughing several times. This movie has its flaws and isnt perfect but most people will find it an entertaining way to kill 90 minutes.