Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is a legendary figure in the world of American journalism and pop culture. He was a true original, and no one can take that away from him. Thompson was so original, it seems impossible that anyone can pay tribute to him in a way that doesn’t end up being

Director Alex Gibney takes an honest crack at attempting to summarize this colossus in his new documentary Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Gibney amassed an amusing collection of Thompson footage spanning thirty-years, interviews with friends and lovers, as well as readings from Thompson’s work by Johnny Depp. The documentary is a great “Hunter for Beginners.” It does not do much to enlighten the viewer about the myth or the man. There are little windows into his life and personality, but in a hurried effort to compact his life into a couple hours, there isn’t anything new or original explored.

When Gibney touches upon biography, there is not much exploration of what may have been going on within Thompson to motivate the decisions he made in his life and career. There is mention of an absent father and a single mother raising three boys on a librarian's salary. No discussion occurs on how Thompson really felt about his life growing up poor without a father, apart from brief speculation by friends. There is no attempt at analysis for his excessive drug use. Perhaps that’s for the better. Only Thompson could have ever known the truth behind what drove him.

The film opens with Hunter S. Thompson's mournful and prophetic testimonial to the events of September 11, 2001. The piece demonstrates his awareness and interest in politics, as well as the deep emotional effect the state of the country has always had on him. His emotion-based politics are made clearer with his attempt to run for Sheriff of Aspen in 1970, and his Gonzo journalistic approach to the 1972 Presidential race. It’s obvious that this is the aspect of Thompson’s life that interested Gibney the most. It’s a wonder he didn’t devote the entire film to exploring Thompson as a political animal and not the more familiar sensationalized druggie persona.

Thompson approached his beliefs with great conviction and trademark spitfire wit, and it’s refreshing to witness someone dealing with politics with intellect and sincere human emotions, such as pure anger and even hope. Near the end of the film, Gibney goes back to Thompson's lamentations on the Bush administration. He clearly wants to make the connection between the current Iraq war, and Nixon and Vietnam. He is, however, a bit too heavy handed in trying to point that out. It would have been simple to illustrate that with Thompson's words and the footage collected, and then allowed the audience to make the connection themselves.

Gibney also briefly examines Thompson's relationship with genius illustrator Ralph Steadman. Steadman was able to literally visualize what Thompson put down on the page. A film devoted to the two, and how they inspired each other would have been far more interesting. The interviews with Steadman are engaging and visually more exciting because he uses his art to illustrate his Hunter anecdotes, as opposed to Gibney’s cheap reenactments that pepper the film. They are slightly amateurish and cartoonish, meant to add to the readings of Hunter’s work, but ultimately not coming close to doing the justice that Steadman’s drawings do. As far as reenactments go, Gibney’s lack the depth that a more skilled documentarian like Errol Morris possesses. Morris’ reenactments are integral to his documentaries, and art in their own right. The most effective visuals in Gonzo are clips from Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but that should not be the dominant presence in the film. Gibney should have stuck with footage of Thompson in action.

Though his own visuals fall short, Gibney thankfully recognizes the power of Hunter’s words and makes sure the audience experiences several excerpts from his most notable works. Regardless of who is doing the reading, Thompson’s words stick in your ears. The greatest effect this movie has on its viewers is creating the desire to read the man’s work. There is nothing more important than that.