Could have been so much more...

Rating: Null/10 (21 November 2001)

I'm a big Doors fan, and if I could see one defunct band perform, it would be them. I've read all the bios on Jim Morrison, and I idolize him.
Surprisingly, Oliver Stone doesn't sensationalize as much in this film than he does in others. Jim lived a very hectic and crazy life, and it's easy to film his hedonistic lifestyle. Val Kilmer (Jim Morrison), Meg Ryan (Pamela Courson), Kyle McLachlan (Ray Manzarek), Kevin Dillon (John Densmore), Frank Whaley (Robby Krieger), and Kathleen Quinlan (Patricia Keneally) look like dead-on copies of the real thing. Kilmer, especially, delivers an Oscar worthy performance, and probably the best celebrity impersonation of anyone besides Jim Carrey's Andy Kaufman.
The music is superb (it's Doors music after all) and the direction is good. It's very hypnotic to watch. It certainly gives you the idea of how Jim Morrison himself felt the 60's were like.
My problem with the film is that it seems to dwell on Jim's negative attributes. Jim was one of the true gentlemen of rock and was very giving and generous, but scenes like these are few and far between. Oliver paints Jim as a self-destructive maniac. Scenes like Jim throwing Pam into a closet and setting it on fire or his tirade on Thanksgiving weren't needed. And of course, Stone sensationalizes The Door's appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, watch the movie version and the actual version; they're nothing alike. Also Patricia wasn't the lady with Jim on the night he got busted in New Haven, nor was she the woman who drank blood and snorted cocaine with him, those happened with other women.
Still, there's a lot to like here. The concert scenes are terrific, the dialog is great, and there are some amusing characters. Although I'd still recommend one of the many documentaries (some made by the Doors themselves) if you want the real Jim Morrison story, this movie does a pretty good job of telling the tale. Just remember that The Lizard King wasn't as scaly as portrayed here.