Aside from a quick emergency turn in Terry Gilliam’s Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Johnny Depp hasn’t been in many non-blockbusters over the last few years. Many seemed to be expecting this to be his return to lower-budget filmmaking, though look at the trailer The Rum Diary seems to be a grimier version of something like The Tourist— a perfectly mainstream upbeat mystery story. Ultimately though, I don’t really care where a Depp movie falls on some sort of “sell out continuum,” especially when it look like such a good time.

The film boasts a cast that includes Aaron Eckhart, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, and Giovanni Ribisi in a tale with a distinct (but not overbearing) Hunter S. Thompson flavor. If they’ve somehow filmed a Gilliam-esque mindfuck, they’re not previewing it here as aside from one brief bit of weirdness, the antics seems limited to standard, if enthusiastic, alcohol-fueled mayhem.

I’m excited to be excited about a Johnny Depp film. He seems to have more subtly taken on the persona of Hunter, complete with a pair of distinct but different sunglasses, and I’m into it.  Let us know what you think though. Do so on twitter, though the comments below, or on the boards…

(via JoBlo)

For some added fun, check out Thompson talking about the novel on which this film is based. He was even then expecting Depp to make this movie, and remarked that this book had much more room for interpretation than Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas.