MOVIE REVIEW: GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON'T DIE

 

Claiming to be from the future, a man takes hostages at a Los Angeles diner to recruit unlikely heroes to help him save the world.

Director: Gore Verbinski

Cast: Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chaudhry, Tom Taylor, Juno Temple

Release Date: February 13, 2026

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Rated R for pervasive language, violence, some grisly images and brief sexual content.

Runtime: 2h 14m

Review:

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die plays like an off the wall hybrid of Terminator and Shaun of the Dead that embraces the insanity of the general concept which boasts a fully committed turns from its cast led by Sam Rockwell.  Gore Verbinski ends his nine-year hiatus with a lively return to the big screen which has him untethered for any restraints which makes for an aggressively busy and random film that works more often than not.  At its core, there’s a cautionary satire that serves as the beating heart of the story that’s surprisingly thoughtful even as the onscreen events get increasingly outlandish.  It does make for a chaotic experience which is sure to keep the majority of the audience off balance even though there are plenty of familiar elements at play.  Verbinski’s film rarely takes a breath as it seemingly throws everything at the wall which makes it easier to overlook the concepts that don’t work as well as others.  He’s blessed with a game cast who displays an impressive level of trust in the director’s vision, embracing it at every turn.  Sam Rockwell is perfectly cast as the soldier from the future tasked with saving humanity from their impending doom.  His manic energy works well for the character since he’s gone through a seemingly endless cycle of trial and error trying to find the correct combination of people to allow him to complete his mission.  He is still able to bring an understated nuance to his performance which gives the character more depth than it originally lets on.  The supporting cast is made up of a series of recognizable faces who all get their moments to shine.  Haley Lu Richardson and Juno Temple get the larger portion of the supporting screen time with both delivering solid work even though their character’s feel strangely under developed.  Each character is given intriguing backstories but there’s not much else offered up outside of the most basic character traits.  Faring even worse are Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz and Asim Chaudhry who are all fun but given equally one-dimensional characters that feel like they should be more impactful than they are.  The film has some dead spots which would have been better utilized to flesh out the characters to make the most of the two hours plus runtime.  It keeps Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die from being truly special but there’s still plenty to appreciate about this gonzo tale on well-worn tropes that makes it all feel timely and fresh.  

B+