THE RUM DIARY REVIEW

To many he’s known as Captain Jack Sparrow and while Captain Jack has missed the boat in his last few outings, the man who plays him, Johnny Depp is most certainly back on the boat in The Rum Diary.

Based on the Hunter S. Thompson novel, The Rum Diary has not been without its ups and downs. It’s director Bruce Robinson wanted nothing to do with the directors chair. Sure he’d do the screenplay, but that was it. The man hadn’t directed anything since Jennifer Eight back in 1992. Constant persistence from the one of the biggest movie stars in the world didn’t convince Robinson to shout action. Eventually, the phone calls from Depp got so frequent that Robinson threatened Captain Jack with a lawyer.  Depp’s persistence paid off and Robinson finally took on the directorial challenge of bringing The Rum Diary to the big screen.

Depp plays Paul Kemp, an American journalist who ends up in Puerto Rico working for a struggling local newspaper in the 1950s.  In between writing horoscopes Kemp gets entwined with the local Mr.Big Shot (Aaron Eckhart) and his stunning other half, Chenault (Amber Heard). What follows is a…well I don’t want to go into spoiler mode here, so shall we say Eckhart's character requires the services of a writer for his own personal, less than honest gain. Mix that up into the failing newspaper scenario and the predictable, but sizzling love interest and you have one thoroughly solid piece of cinema.

Johnny Depp’s performance here is rather bloody good. At times, its almost too good. So much so, it’s quite easy to almost get hypnotised by the whole thing and you’ll wonder where the time has gone to. That said, I’d imagine at this point, Depp can play these characters in his sleep. I’m not saying thats a bad thing, but this is one of the better performances Depp has pulled off in quite some time. His supporting cast fare well too. Eckhart, whilst immediately looks out of place the first time you see him, slowly grows into his role. Amber Heard sizzles with sex appeal every time see appears, and to her credit is more than just eye candy. Besides Depp, and at times he outshines him when they’re on screen together, Michael Rispoli is nothing short of brilliant. Playing Depp’s bumbling friend, the two really work well together and have a wonderful chemistry. Some of their scenes together will have you choking on the popcorn with laughter.

At just under 2 hours long, The Rum Diary is an easy watch. It’s never too taxing or complicated and has a vibrant palette and style, which, like Depp, is incredibly easy on the eyes. Granted, in the closing chapters it seems a bit lost and rushed, but not enough to break the rum bottle as it were. It’s not going to be a movie for everyone though. It’s not exactly the laugh a minute ride some of the trailers make it out to be, but where it’s funny, it’s hilarious. The Rum Diary is definitely worth a watch and has a brilliant performance from Johnny Depp, which is worth the price of admission alone.