Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

The flaccid film is a goon-show version of Thompson's commentary on the craziness of the American Dream.

The one stand-out is Johnny Depp, who brings Hunter S Thompson to bald-headed, pigeon-toed life.

It's certainly distinctive, looking at times like Richard Lester put through a postmodernist blender.

(Gilliam's) vision is too reflexively comic to evoke the shadows of dread in Thompson's writing.

Pic serves up a sensory overload without any compensatory reflection on the outlandish and irresponsible behavior on view.

A film of brilliant moments, but sadly less coherent - and, on senses, rather less personal - than most of Gilliam's work.

It’s a film for the young and those who think like them. That’s a great thing.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a cautionary tale, yet despite everyone’s best efforts, it also now feels like a nostalgic blast for those of us whose wild days are in the rearview.

Depp and Del Toro deliver deliciously overstuffed ham-sandwich performances that more than compensate for the film's fractured narrative. But the real star here is director Gilliam.

...catapulted by Depp and co-star Benecio del Toro along with an impressive mix of players in bit parts-including the voice of Debbie Reynolds...