Overview
A wild journey through the heart of America, fueled by excess and paranoia.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- surreal
- grotesque
- irreverent
- cult movie night
- late night viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly agreed that the film is visually inventive and committed to Thompson's psychedelic sensibility, but found it aimless, repetitive, and emotionally or narratively thin.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Hallucinations and drug-fueled perception are translated into extreme lenses, warped environments, and aggressively saturated imagery.
The road trip turns intoxication, paranoia, and Las Vegas spectacle into deliberately excessive dark comedy.
Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo travel through the American West while pursuing an elusive version of the american dream.
Las Vegas functions as a symbolic location for money obsession, visual vulgarity, and the extremes of American culture.
Films like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and why
Easy Rider
shares a surreal road movie structure, counterculture themes, drug-fueled paranoia, and abrasive dark comedy
Brazil
shares psychedelic visual experimentation, anti-establishment satire, grotesque humor, and heightened reality
The Big Lebowski
shares a hallucinatory descent into American excess, volatile buddy dynamics, and nightmarish comedy
Southland Tales
shares gonzo satire, grotesque spectacle, and a visually maximalist critique of American culture
Movie Details
- Director
- Terry Gilliam
- Release Date
- 1998-05-22
- Runtime
- 118 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (5200)
Cast
- Johnny Depp
- Benicio del Toro
- Tobey Maguire
- Michael Lee Gogin
- Larry Cedar
- Brian Le Baron
- Katherine Helmond
- Michael Warwick
- Craig Bierko
- Tyde Kierney
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas about?
- A journalist and his lawyer plunge through a drug-saturated American odyssey where Las Vegas becomes a grotesque hallucination of national excess.
- What is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as mild.
- What did critics think of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?
- Critics broadly agreed that the film is visually inventive and committed to Thompson's psychedelic sensibility, but found it aimless, repetitive, and emotionally or narratively thin.
- Which films are like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?
- Films with a similar feel include Easy Rider, Brazil, The Big Lebowski, and Southland Tales.
- How long is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas runs 118 minutes.
- Where can I watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?
- In United States, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
