Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

AroView: Wildly hallucinatory version of Hunter S. Thompson’s counter-culture novel, does away with the ersatz social satire but thankfully hits the comic jugular in the process.

Johnny Depp jitters round as the notorious gonzo-scribe, touring Las Vegas on a bender with Benicio Del Toro (whose scene-stealing rendition of the 70s hedonist comes across with frightening veracity). If at times the acid-nightmare seems endless, dir. Terry Gilliam at least remains loyal to Thompson’s perverse logic and juvenile drug kicks.

“It is as deeply satisfying as only the yowling, primal trashing of several rental cars and hotel rooms while in the grips of a hopelessly depraved ether jag and several sheets of blotter acid can be… A cinematic masterpiece.” ~Salon