Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die

Movie Name: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Juno Temple, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chaudhry, Tom Taylor, Georgia Goodman, Daniel Barnett, Artie Wilkinson-Hunt, Riccardo Drayton, Dominique Maher, David Sturzaker
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review

Director Gore Verbinski is back, 10 years after his prior directorial endeavor, "A Cure for Wellness". He has partnered with writer/director Matthew Robinson, acting solely as screenwriter on this project, on what is both a humorous, but also very smart take on technology and the fear of AI. The film focuses its narrative on a man who shows up on a diner in LA claiming to have traveled from the future. The man appearing disheveled and quasi homeless, explains that in the future an artificial super-intelligence has destroyed humanity, and that the only people who can prevent that catastrophe are located in the restaurant, at that moment. He also mentions that he has attempted to thwart that AI's destructive plans 117 times before, with different combinations of the restaurant patrons, always without success. He warns everyone at the restaurant that if they don't play nice, he'll self detonate a bomb he has attached to himself. He ends up enlisting Susan, a mother whose son recently got killed in a school shooting, Mark & Janet, both teachers, reeling from odd occurrences at their school, Scott, Marie, Bob (a scout master), and eventually Ingrid, someone he has some doubts on. The police surrounds the diner, and eventually Susan indicates an escape route, though Bob sacrifices himself so they can make their escape. They all flee the diner, and the man from the future explains that they need to prevent a 9 year old boy, living nearby, from creating the monstrous AI that is responsible for the demise of humanity. They also realize that they're being pursued by two masked gunmen who are intent on killing them all. As we know more about each one of the individuals of the group, we realize that what the man from the future is saying is not as absurd as it seems to be.

Gore Verbinski who made a name for himself with the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, as well as the very successful "The Ring", "Rango", and " The Weather Man", has always been a very stylish visual storyteller who is also adept at bringing colorful characters to life. Sam Rockwell's man from the future in "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die", has traits of eccentricity reminiscent of Captain Jack Sparrow, but he also brings to mind the characters from Terry Gilliam's "Brazil", summarily meaning he is humorous, edgy, and at times, his mental sanity can be questioned. Mr. Verbinski smartly builds this feature much like an onion whose layers keep getting peeled off, until we get to the crux of the mission that jumpstarts the film, but also of what is really motivating the central character of the film. On the path to this climax, the director unveils who these characters are, what has driven them to believe the words of a possible madman, and why reality isn't exactly what people expect it to be. It's a very smart script, that marries aspects of "Brazil", "Groundhog Day", and even has nods to "The Terminator" films & mystique, courtesy of the whole aspect of AI as a mortal antagonist towards humanity. The fact that the film is able to tell a somewhat dark narrative with humor, never losing its momentum, is a testament to the talent of Mr. Verbinski, who keeps the narrative perpetually in motion, allowing for the characters to be understood, as well as illustrating how they all come together in the larger scheme of what is happening. The cast is uniformly great, led by the terrific Sam Rockwell, who has great support from Juno Temple, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, and Zazie Beetz. The production team is equally solid, including James Whitaker's cinematography, Geoff Zanelli's score, David Brisbin's production design, and the select visual effects that populate the film. It's a smartly conceived, acted, and unpretentiously put together film, from a director who is always worth paying attention to.