Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Johnny Depp fans, drug users, and existentialists alike have been raving about this movie ever since it came out. There was some serious buzz generated around it when I was in high school, and everyone seemed to imply that A) it is a must see movie and B) it will change your life.

It’s not, and it won’t. Unless of course you happen to be a Johnny Depp fan, a drug user or an existentialist.

Maybe it fell victim to nearly a decade’s worth of hype, but I was disappointed with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Johnny Depp really creates his character with vivid, almost disturbing, realism. His commitment to the character is the strong point of the film. The story has its moments of strengths, but grows tiresome at the end. Depp plays real-life “writer” Hunter S. Thompson as he wanders through the wastelands of America to cover some story for a newspaper or magazine (I don’t honestly recall which). To help cope with his assignment, he and his partner have a case full of narcotics, a veritable who’s who of psychoactive substances.

They shoot up, get high, wander around, and barely remember to cover their assignment. The film reaches a breaking point in which the two become so hopelessly strung out on drugs that they don’t remember what’s happened for some period of time, which is probably a good thing. The film shows how drugs distort and ultimately destroy one’s mind, and yet, while Depp’s character sobers up and seems like he’s getting off the horse, he’s reassigned and restocks his stash for another merry adventure in semi-unconsciousness. Roll credits. The End.

The film doesn’t try to validate the irresponsible abuse of drugs, but it also certainly doesn’t attempt to tell its audience to steer clear of them. It’s a semi-biographical movie about a quasi-remembered trip. The final half hour plods along with uncertainty as to whether Depp’s character is going to resolve this mess and whether there needed to be an additional 30 minutes to the story.

The movie doesn’t have a statement to make, it doesn’t stand for anything, and there’s not much plot progression outside of a couple of strung out junkies. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is simply there to be there, which it does quite well.

RATING: 3 out of 5

Sin City (2005)

If this film had been shot and produced in the same manner as conventional films, it would have been a failure. The saving grace of this neo-noir comic book film is its style and art direction. Sin City is a visual masterpiece that really looks like a comic book in motion. Because of this, some of the effects that would seem laughable in any other film are laudable here.

Sin City accomplishes a rare feat for me- it is a film that I nearly fell asleep watching, but rather enjoyed. The high concept and suspenseful payoff at the end of this installment make up for the weighty, overblown and overlong feel this movie carries through much of the middle. Under normal circumstances, this film would have been at least a whole star lower on my scale. It’s uncommon for technical aspects to save a film, and should certainly not be tried more often, because it usually won’t work.

This film is mainly for readers of the Sin City series of comic books (the industry would like me to refer to them as graphic novel, but I don't really care) and for those who enjoy high concept comic book film adaptations (of which there are few). It can be hard to follow at first, because Sin City brings you into an already living world. Nothing is explained to you about this world’s construct except through dialog. It takes a few minutes to get used to, but more focused viewers will catch on quick.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5