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As the tagline reads, if you "Buy the ticket!" and "Take the ride!" you really will be left wondering what 'ride' you have taken. This quite possibly has to be the biggest irritant of a film ever committed to celluloid. When watching such a confusing effort, one has to say it should be classed as a Marmite picture. For those who are familiar with this sort of trip (in both senses of the word), you will probably come to enjoy the 113 minute rollercoaster of bewilderment. However, those who are not will be left baffled and disorientated. Johnny Depp is Raoul Duke, a photographer sent to Las Vegas to report on an annual desert motorbike race. Depp is excellent as usual with his acting, in addition to his narration, and is complimented well by Benicio Del Toro's sidekick of an attorney for this drug-filled excursion. Having never read Hunter S. Thompson's original text, I fail to contemplate how close or far Terry Gilliam's adaptation is from the source material. One hopes the cult classic which spawned the film is more understandable.
Other good points aside from the leads, and cameo appearances of Cameron Diaz, Tobey Maguire and hosts more include an excellent soundtrack featuring Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and Perry Como's "Magic Moments" among others. The recognisable tunes partner Gilliam's visuals of the Strip neatly and add a sense of recognition to a world the average viewer knows nothing about.
The first words of the film, when Depp is describing the contents of the convertible's boot, are paid tribute to in the latest Boogie Pimps track, "Don't You Want Somebody to Love". Consequently little cultural references such as this and the presence of the film's poster in seemingly every student's bedroom make this an alternative classic. However, this is probably one film you will not consider as such.
The extras
None. Universal is probably waiting until 2008 for some sort of anniversary edition.
The summary
Buy the poster, not the film.
