Fear and Loathing in Aspen

So, this is a story from Hunter S Thompson's life, and bills itself as "the sequel to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"...it is not.

What could have been a great film and an interesting chapter out of the life and times of one of the most recognizable names in literature and journalism, just ends up being a boring mess, and is totally let down by the low budget, bad writing and horrible acting by people that are obviously trying their best but simply don't have the skill required to pull it off.

If you are a fan of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, then stay far far away from this movie, as you won't find any of the humour, wit and drug fueled chaos that made the original so entertaining. There is very little to like about this movie. It had a great premise but it just doesn't work. Nothing here feels coherent or entertaining in any way at all.

Though most will probably know the name "Hunter S Thompson" for his wilder exploits chronicled in the book and film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" , this movie focuses on some of his more constructive efforts, namely his bid to become Sheriff of the rural town of Aspen in 1970. Humourous japes such as pcp laced cigarettes and roller skating activists are placed alongside more serious themes such as industrial pollution, police harassment, and, inevitably, the war in Vietnam. It all rolls along quite nicely but in the end, the film just doesn't quite go in hard enough. Ironically, leaning into the nastier side of Hunter's legend ( or indeed the darker side of American society at the time) might have given the film the extra bit of tension and pizazz needed to lift it from good to great. Instead, it spends far too much time labouring it's central point, which is that the hippies had some good ideas underneath the craziness, they just needed to get out and vote. I've no idea how succinct this analysis is, I just resented being beaten over the head with it quite so much. Still , this film is an above average watch.

Could have been better. Just OK acting. Just OK writing. Just an OK movie all in all. And by the way the Johnny Depp is the only guy who can play Hunter S Thompson, this guys got balls for at least trying though.

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.

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.