Review by tywebb

This film is at turns brilliant, excruciatingly funny, grotesquely disturbing, and in one spot even touching and beautiful. What gets me again and again is, how on earth is Gilliam able to take Hunter Thompson's book, and make it into this vivid, experiential piece that hits you like a freight train. Some kind of creative force of nature, this man is. If it seems to get dragging and messy in some spots...well...creation is messy. I love this piece as a whole, including the imperfections.

Fear and Loathing is about a lot of things, much more than just two men on a demented, depraved, prolonged drug binge. And it is more than just an adaptation of Hunter Thompson's famous novel. It has a life of its own, makes political, social, personal statements, and the way Gilliam's wit and imagination synergizes with that of Thompson's makes this a compelling and unique experience. I would give it two or three viewings initially, to let it sink in. The Perl of the whole thing is when the narrator reminisces about the mid-60s...a glimpse of peace and beauty amidst the chaos that surrounds it...the centre of the vortex.