GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF HUNTER S. THOMPSON

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For all of its illumination of one of the most enigmatic figures in American literature, "Gonzo" mistakenly paints Hunter S. Thompson as a writer whose star burned out decades before his long foreshadowed suicide in 2005.

Director Alex Gibney taps Thompson’s longtime friend Johnny Depp for narration duties, but fails to interview the actor for his insights into the film’s subject.

The documentary is front-loaded to a fault, covering Thompson’s early career that produced such milestones as Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga," "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72," and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

Although billed as a definitive film biography of the fearless interloper who invented "Gonzo" journalism, the movie falls short on covering large swaths of Thomposn’s later career.

Absent is the ‘80s period when he wrote as the San Francisco Examiner's media critic while doing research for an unpublished novel called Polo is My Life. As an introduction to the life and ideas of one of America’s last truly original literary voices, the movie does an adequate job, but there is nothing "definitive" about it.

Rated R. 95 mins.