Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
When a writing assignment lands journalist Raoul Duke and sidekick Dr. Gonzo in Las Vegas, they decide to make it the ultimate business trip. But before long, business is forgotten and trip has become the key word. Fueled by a suitcase full of mind-bending pharmaceuticals, Duke and Gonzo set off on a fast and furious ride through nonstop neon, surreal surroundings and a crew of the craziest characters ever.
Cast and Information
Directed By: Terry Gilliam
Written By: Terry Gilliam, Alex Cox, Tony Grisoni, Hunter S. Thompson
Starring: Richard Riehle, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Benicio Del Toro, Ellen Barkin, Christopher Meloni, Cameron Diaz, Mark Harmon, Tobey Maguire, Kim Flowers
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Adventure
Country: USA
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas belongs to 63 collections
1. Criterion Collection (public: moderated by caffe - 162 stars)
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| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 7 |  |
unccomp15 | 92 78% |
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a trip; an addictive drug trip. When you watch it the first time, it messes you up. Then you watch it again; the dialogue and action feels better, cleaner, and more comfortable. After the second time, you are hooked. I think this movie is intended to show you the dangers of drug usage on the job, but Depp's and del Toro's dead on druggie performances make any objectives stated in the movie completely irrelevant and interesting to watch.
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| 6 |  |
FunkyAstro | 100 99% |
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So many people don't even know what this movie was about. It's not just some fuckin drug movie! This epic tale is about the search for the American dream and how it conquered an entire generation's hard fought work, but Duke refused to let it go without a fight. F&L provides a very introspective look into a special place and time few people were lucky enough to be a part of and how American greed brought it to its knees. HST was a brilliant journalist who was in the dead center of it all.
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| 5 |  |
DavidBlast | 100 98% |
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The most quotable movie of all time is the perfect merger between two very flawed but genius artists. Hunter S. Thompson's mad ramblings about a Vegas drug-bender in search of the American dream, combined with Terry Gilliam's visual brilliance. This is the thinking man's ultimate anti-drug movie. Wildly uneven, overly long, and utterly insane, this is everything art should strive to be. Oh, and it's okay: He's just admiring the shape of your skull.
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| 4 |  |
Alex Watkins | 4 70% |
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I absolutely love the book; it's one of my favorites. And this is probably the most perfect book-to-film adaptation I've ever seen; it looks exactly as I pictured it in my head and captures the mood perfectly. Some of HST's "death of the 60s ideal" musings aren't quite carried over, but the surface here is as perfect as it could ever be. Improbably great film of a classic book.
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| 4 |  |
Magb | 80 61% |
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This is quite a ride. It somehow captures the drugginess, the absurdity and the exhilaration of the book. Both Depp and Del Toro put in flawless and hilarious performances. The biggest problem is that the film never becomes more than the sum of its parts.
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| 4 |  |
Boobjuice | 71 68% |
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ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL STONERS, JUNKIES, AND ASSORTED WASTE-OIDS: PLEASE STOP TREATING THIS MOVIE AS YOUR GENERATION'S "CITIZEN KANE." That being said, I love Hunter S. Thompson, Terry Gilliam, and Johnny Depp, so it would follow that I love this movie... but I don't. I LIKE it. Strange and a little terrifying, but it has pacing issues.
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| 3 |  |
janus | 100 99% |
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Gilliam's chaotic mise-en-scene provides an obliqueness that Thompson's eloquent but ham-fisted novel could have used.
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| 3 |  |
terrymac | 80 84% |
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I enjoy this film far more than I think I should. It has great visual touches, enjoyably deranged performances from Depp and Del Toro, and it manages to capture plenty of Thompson's writing. Can't see this having broad appeal, but fans of Thompson should lap it up.
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| 3 |  |
Grit | 50 47% |
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It's not to say that Fear and Loathing doesn't have some great moments and some great humour thrown into the mix of drugs and alcohol, but it's hard to think of this as anything other than a matter of subject and style over substance. When you really delve into it the film is really a sequence of scenes about a nothing, be it solely held together by Depp's excellent narration. I don't know whether you would have to have been there to understand Fear and Loathing or not, but I certainly haven't.
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| 3 |  |
Vince Leo (Qwipster's Movie Reviews) | 0 0% |
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Despite being virtually incoherent, it is perhaps of interest to Thompson fans, Gilliam-loving freaks, or anyone who has ever experienced a bad drug-induced trip. Everyone else should stay away from this film like the plague as it is easily one of the least enjoyable experiences you're ever likely to have watching a film. [Full Review]
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| 2 |  |
billkerwin | 85 66% |
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A worthy adaptation, made with love and faithful to the original. The first third--ending with Duke's reptilian vision and the Dr.'s difficult descent from a revolving bar--is masterful, creating a visual equivalent for Thompson's hallucinatory prose. After that, it loses focus and power, for film cannot sustain such gonzo energy without wearying its audience, and the cruelty of the two main characters toward women seems worse in the high-impact medium of film than it does in prose.
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| 2 |  |
MartinTeller | 77 61% |
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Surprisingly good adaptation of an "unfilmable" book. Depp's performance strikes me as too exaggerated, even for a role that demands exaggeration. Nitpicking, maybe, but it bugs me.
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| 2 |  |
emtilt | 62 49% |
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Pretty good, but not the masterpiece some make it out to be. It suffers from severe pacing problems and it is ultimately somewhat empty and meaningless. It does, however, remain entertaining most of the time, and it is very interesting visually.
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| 2 |  |
snaYkeY | 96 96% |
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We can't stop here! This is bat country... You just can't stay indifferent to this movie - I have friends who hate it, others nearly deify it. Personally, I find this one of the most unique movies I have ever seen and with an amazing Depp this sensory-overloading movie left me exhausted, but loving every bit of it. The perfect odyssey about drugs and what they do to you.
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| 2 |  |
saucyjack | 43 22% |
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The visuals are brilliant, there's no denying that. However, it simply isn't funny and goes nowhere. Watching the film sort of feels like you're the only sober one at a party. As a result, you are rewarded with hallucinatory images and characters vomiting profusely everywhere much of the running time.
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| 2 |  |
Cowman | 85 96% |
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Johnny Depp's all-time best performance in one of the most absurd and surreal movies you can imagine.
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| 2 |  |
Bmunise | 95 80% |
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I wish I could marry this film's mise-en-scene.
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| 2 |  |
Askail | 84 95% |
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One will either love it or find it an awful mess. I chose the former.
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| 2 |  |
Noblet | 85 84% |
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Loved Johnny Depp's performance, and some of the visuals were hilarious. Just two hours of non-stop insanity.
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| 2 | SavageLucy42 | 100 99% |
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My number 2 favorite movie ever.
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| 2 |  |
TheDenizen | 90 95% |
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Man, I need to get out to Bat country. Anyone know where I can score some ether?
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| 1 | NelsonSilva | 95 95% |
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Gilliam is a surreal genious.
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| 1 |  |
Paxton | 78 83% |
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Tobey Maguire has never looked better.
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| 1 |  |
ABUNCHOFCATS | 92 91% |
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The finest performance I've seen out of Depp and a phenomenal transition from the novel to the screen.
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| 1 |  |
ShaqFilmClub | 100 85% |
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3 Shaqtaculars
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| 1 | niksan | 75 87% |
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Happily runs with it's own surreal ideas and the film benefits from it, much like Gilliam's Monty Python animations.
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| 1 |  |
Bsemisch | 50 9% |
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This movie gets way too much credit.
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| 1 |  |
stevekimes | 65 9% |
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Pretty freaky camera work. But annoying characters with little or no plot. My least favorite Gilliam.
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| 1 |  |
Bown | 65 21% |
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Same thing happened over and over again so by about the half-hour point I was bored. AMAZING opening though.
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| 1 |  |
DetoxP | 1 0% |
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It's barely even a movie, and more of a trip through the absurd (which is neither a compliment or an insult). I have a bizarre relationship with this movie, although I'm not entirely sure if it works, I have an odd affection for it, and I think it has more to say than people give it credit for. There really isn't anything like it. Score is not a grade.
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| 1 |  |
JacoIII | 40 54% |
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I've read some Hunter S. Thompson and this film is almost a perfect adaptation. His hectic, Gonzo style is perfectly captured by the surrealistic edge of Terry Gilliam's sword. A better director could not have been picked, Gilliam is Thompson's doppelganger in celluloid.
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| 1 |  |
svnhf | 85 82% |
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Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro play off each other like Buzz and Woody on crack in this film; and to hilarious results. Besides The Holy Grail this is by far the most entertaining film I've ever seen. Depp sets in motion his patterned Duke character, Del Toro plays with such intensity that it is almost scary and the events around the two make for an endless supply of fun. I am embarrased to say that I haven't read the book but if it reads the same way this film is seen I'll get it right away.
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| 1 |  |
jmarkthespot | 70 69% |
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"Look, there's two women fucking a polar bear!"
"Don't tell me those things right now, man."
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| 1 |  |
mwgerb | 77 93% |
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The best, most appropriate, and probably the only way to describe this is a fucking trip. Hunter S. Thompson's brilliant prose combined with Gilliam's visual spectacle is a fantastic and potent mixture. I disagree with the obvious and easy conclusion that this has no message. It makes its points, but does so from the only possible perspective: a man trying to continue what was, while trying to escape what was lost. Gonzo filmmaking.
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| 1 |  |
Cinema_Asia | 90 96% |
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Hilarious and astute interpretation of H.S. Thompson which works as an ingenious translation of the pseudo-reality of gonzo journalism meshed with the late 60's/early 70's politics of the real world. At times humorously self aware and profound in its statement of banal middle American values and dreams.
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| 1 |  |
overrated | 90 96% |
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Let's get down to brass tacks. How much for the ape?
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| 1 | Polemic | 90 88% |
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This gets points for even attempting to adapt Hunter S Thompson's crazed but wildly entertaining ramblings into a coherent narrative. Doesn't always succeed, but then that gives you some idea of the man, and the original book. Depp shows just how much he's grown as an actor, taking another difficult role and filling it admirably. A rollicking good time movie.
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| 1 |  |
febraro | 70 33% |
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Saved me from spending some money with acid, I'll give you that.
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| 1 |  |
Ocelot | 65 64% |
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It's like babysitting retarded children for two hours. Make of that what you wish.
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| 1 | slackerish | 70 48% |
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Loved it the first time I saw it, but it got progressively worse on repeat viewings. I wish Gilliam had included some of the more philosophical parts the book had, instead of 2+ hours of drug tripping. It's entertaining, but that's about it.
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| 1 |  |
mrbeck | 80 87% |
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Amazingly freakin' weird. A movie about drugs, written as if you're on an acid trip watching it. Try to keep up, it's an awesome ride.
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| 1 | Kirjat | 65 19% |
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As far as I love Gilliam, this is not entirely my cup of tea. Drugs, so what?
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| 1 |  |
jimmynmu | 93 95% |
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Not for everyone, but a psychedlic "trip" to say the least.
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| 1 |  |
ServantDagon | 97 95% |
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ITS BAT COUNTRY!
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| 1 | Harlequin21 | 69 37% |
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Who knew an acid trip would be so boring? Live and learn.
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| 1 |  |
Harmonica | 81 71% |
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I think this is one of those movies that lives on the moment you first choose to watch it. For me that was a movie night one baking hot summer evening with friends. They'd all seen it half a dozen times over but got to experience it anew as I saw it for the first time. What a fun trip. My recommendation is to wait for that moment and cherish the adventure.
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| 1 |  |
pilgermann | 90 94% |
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Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to be on drugs to enjoy this. It's a sensory overload at times, but I love it!
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| 1 |  |
TheDiceman | 80 95% |
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Brilliant, Johnny Depp is a living legend and in my opinion probably one of the greatest actors of his generation.
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| 1 |  |
dwhee | 24 20% |
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After the "Bat Country" line, this one was pretty much downhill. I haven't read the book, though.
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| 1 |  |
Tripwyre | 91 93% |
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"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." It's such a good line, and sums up the film and its feelings so well. It's quite funny when it wants to be, but has a knack for pushing fun too far into uneasy territory. That's the point of course, and Gilliam makes great use of Dutch angles to heighten the unease. The Lizard Lounge is an amazing visual accomplishment, and Depp and Del Toro bounce off each other marvelously. It doesn't always flow, but it's a hell of a ride.
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| 1 | LPhovercraft | 0 3% |
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This intellectually bankrupt project does little beyond wallowing, as its characters do, in substance-abused excess.
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| 1 |  |
JooJoo | 5 80% |
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"As your attorney, I advise you....." is such a great way to start a sentence. Love this trip. I feel Depp could have done more with his part but Del Toro was brilliant & there should be no question Gilliam was the man for the job. A higher score would have been assured had that last act not tapered off just slightly.
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| 1 |  |
Anomaly | 87 89% |
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Just a flat-out blast to watch. Manages to perfectly capture the atmosphere and feel of drugs, decadence, and Las Vegas in a wonderfully gonzo way. The message is a bit lackluster when so removed from its time and place, but everything else here more than makes up for it. And hey, it's pretty funny too.
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| 1 |  |
frederic_g54 | 7 57% |
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"A film without a message is just a waste of time" - D.W. Griffith. I stand behind that statement, but this film is too much fun, with Depp giving one of his finest performances to date. I liked the experience...
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| 1 | meanmikhail | 100 91% |
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To hell with anyone who didn't like this.
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| 1 |  |
prowler | 93 96% |
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haven't read the book, but this was super
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| 1 | Manhatta | 88 75% |
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I've always heard that this film was a mess, which made little sense to me because I always felt the book was a mess as well. I thought it was perfect, and Gilliam's take on the drug freakouts weren't as stupid as they could have been, and fit in well with the illustrations from the novel. I can't picture Thompson being so.. manic, but Depp certainly nails him in the calmer moments.
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| 1 |  |
skiewulfy | 30 12% |
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Not to be recommended if you have such lofty demands of films as "having a point". Sure its a collection of scenes, sometimes clever, but rarely connected; like a high-brow version of the Scary Movie series its all referential, but instead of pop culture we have the more esoteric and pretentious "I need drugs to be creative" culture.
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| 1 |  |
cinema_hell | 65 21% |
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Very poor, compared to the Hunter S. Thompson book. And Terry Gilliam got the wrong guy (Depp) to play the writer's role.
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| 1 |  |
Castroph | 7 70% |
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A nightmarish journey through a man's skewed mindset.
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| 1 |  |
cinemadmirer | 80 52% |
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Too weird to like, and too rare to dislike.
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Displaying 1 to 250 of 331 total ratings: Prev | Next
| Average Percentile 60.72% from 9923 Ratings |  |