Miedo y asco en Las Vegas

An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas, with a car full of drugs, alcohol and the pursuit of the American Dream.

A psychedelic trip into the macabre, a chaotic spiral into madness. These terms perfectly describe Hunter S. Thompson's novel describing his drug fueled trip of the west. Depp does a perfect rendition of Thompson and truly is a marvel to watch in this film. In his rendition it is easy to see how Depp has become one of this generations finest actors. This film for the casual viewer may be difficult to follow and or watch, but to me personally is a fantastic film one in which does what it was intended to do, and that is to entertain and to darkly and at times humorously take the viewer on a chaotic ride. With a huge cult following and an eventual prequel that came out; Rum Diaries, this is a wonderful peek into the world of the not so normal and the drug fueled ride that is Hunter S. Thompson's life. The soundtrack is perfect for this film as it follows suit with the chaos that is viewed on the screen. I highly recommend this film to film buffs and lovers of dark comedies.

I think the people who reviewed this film are a bit warped for thinking of it as anything less than a masterpiece. This film comes from the glorious days of Johnny Depp taking obscure roles in films and totally immersing himself in the character. Benecio Del Toro's performance was second to none, and I cannot for the life of me comprehend why someone would think this to be the "worst movie ever". God save us that we actually have to think a little when we sit in those awful theatre seats. Heaven forbid we're required to use our imagination a little bit and not have it handed to us in the form of Hollywood mindless pap. The film, del toro, Depp, and of course, Gilliam are all brilliant. I pity the fools who gave this movie a negative review and fail miserably in articulating their reasoning.

Where to even start with this? What starts as a fun drug-fueled comedy slowly turns into a claustrophobic nightmare of grotesque imagery and sensory overload. I've never done any hallucinogetic drugs, but I imagine that after a while, the rush Would become a nightmare. This is an ugly movie. It's hard to watch. It's extremely uncfomfortable. And that's the point.

Terry Gilliam said in his own words: "I want it to be seen as one of the great movies of all time, and one of the most hated movies of all time." Judging by the critics' reactions, he succeded. The film has an almost perfectly split 50 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and many critics, including Roger Ebert, were completely appalled by it, and honestly, it's not hard to see why.

But the movie survived. It has stood the test of time. It has risen from the ashes to become stronger than ever before. It is a paradox. A joyful nightmare. A horrifying treat. This film was too weird to live, yet too rare too die.

'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' was originally an Article published in two parts in Rolling Stone Magazine. It was written by Hunter S. Thompson. It tells the story of a journalist reporting on the Mint 500 in Las Vegas.

Terry Gilliam (the Director) is an accomplished film maker who began his career as one of the members of Monty Python. He did all of their animations.

These two men on their own are incredibly clever and gifted artists in their chosen medium. What we get from this combination is one of the best films ever made. It is a more or less true story. It is a wonderful view on the warped nature of American 'Culture' from a completely askew angle. Drugs, drugs and more drugs, but instead of preaching their evils or telling you how fabulous life is when you're on acid, you get a very unbiased experienced approach to their use and abuse.

Visually the film is amazing and both Johnny Depp and Benizio Del Toro are true to the book. I couldn't possibly recommend this film more highly.

After I watched this movie for the first time, I thought it was dumbest piece of ... whatnot I had ever seen! But as time passed (merely a few hours) and while I couldn't get that movie out of my head, I realised that Terry G. again made a movie, that nobody else could've done ... at least not like this! Everyone was saying that you couldn't possibly make a movie out of that book ... and nay-sayers will still be convinced that it can't be done. But I've come to terms and really accepted this movie for what it is! A crazy hell of a ride movie, that is just ludicrous! And I love it! Every f**ing minute of it! And how could you write a review without even mentioning the F-word. Try to listen to the commentary by the real Hunter S. Thompson! That's the guy who wrote the book, for those who don't know.

So as this movie is just plain crazy, I don't know how to wrap this up ... maybe I just leave it open ... ;o)