Directed by Gore Verbinski | Starring Sam Rockwell, Zazie Beetz, & Michael Peña
What’s up, everybody? It’s ya boi, RB3, for First Cut, serving up a fresh review for the new film, Good Luck, Have Fun. Don’t Die. Directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Matthew Robinson, the movie is a big-budget science fiction comedy adventure that’s completely original through and through. There’s not a lot of cinema that you can say you’ve never seen anything like this before, but this is definitely one of them.
There are *some* things you have seen before, though. If you’ve watched dystopian sci-fi properties like Black Mirror or Terminator, you’ve likely been introduced to many Good Luck’s themes and ideas addressed in a much more serious manner. But this Gore Verbinski picture is very wacky, self-aware, satirical, and over-the-top. Imagine the technological horror of Black Mirror meeting the satirist tone of Don’t Look Up, meeting the absurdist comedy of Mars Attacks. There’s a brilliant mixture of genres, tones, and visual styles & techniques that truly distinguishes the film from any logical comparison.
Sam Rockwell leads the film as an unnamed refugee from a distant future who travels back in time to help him prevent the rise of a dangerous AI program that a mysterious 9-year-old boy is soon to create. This is apparently the time traveler’s 117th attempt at stopping the digital apocalypse, but this time, he manages to find the perfect collection of Norms patrons to assist along the way. The cast is having a lot of fun, with supporting performances from Zazie Beetz, Michael Peña, Juno Temple, Haley Lu Richardson, and more. The ensemble perfectly understands the assignment and is not afraid to ham up the quirkiness.
Now I watched this movie at an AMC Early Access public screening rather than the usual press invite. When studios preview movies for fans before critics, it’s typically an indication of where fans’ expectations for the movie lie. On the surface, I wasn’t sure how most critics would react to a film like this, given the insane levels of zaniness present throughout each frame. There are so many WTF moments in the third act that I can’t help but wonder if this weird sh*t is working for anyone other than me. But it worked for the rest of my audience, too. And apparently it’s working with critics too, exhibiting a remarkable 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Overall, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is just a splashy, silly, somewhat serious commentary about the destructive potential of artificial intelligence. I recommend moviegoers to just turn their brains off, don’t take the film too seriously, and bask in the goofy Terry Gilliam-esque visuals and humor. While I understand this film may not appeal to everyone, I can definitely see it becoming a cult classic!
Have you watched Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die yet? Please let me know your thoughts on the film in the comments below, or whether you plan to watch it after reading my review. :)
