"Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" Tells Audiences to "Somber the F*ck Up!"

[the following review is spoiler-free]

Despite not really being a household name, American filmmaker, Gore Verbinski is one of the highest grossing directors of all time. From cult classics like The Ring and Rango to big franchise films like the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Verbinski has proved he can do it all. Unfortunately, the director's last film, 2016's A Cure for Wellness proved to be a devastating flop both commercially and critically, leading him to not make another film for a whole decade. But now, the wait is finally over and Verbinski is back with a new feature film! Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die is a creative force, finally available in theaters after years in development hell.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die is a sci-fi comedy led by the incomparable Sam Rockwell, featuring the additional talents of Zazie Beetz, Juno Temple, Michael Peña, and Haley Lu Richardson. Rockwell plays an unnamed man who busts into a busy LA diner one night, claiming to be from the future. He informs everyone that one very specific combination of patrons is the key to saving the world from an A.I. that is about to be invented. So begins the journey of the world's most unlikely heroes trying to save humanity from total collapse. After all, this is the unnamed man's 177th attempt, what could go wrong?

Where this script really shines is in its the diner patrons' backstories, which occur in vignettes, these introduce the audience to the insane chain of events that led these people to believing a crazy man in a diner, claiming to be from the future. Susan's (Temple) backstory is particularly harrowing, and will remind viewers of Black Mirror episodes: "Be Right Back" and "Common People," to the point where it teeters between "homage" and "copy" territory. If I had to criticize, aspects of these stories feel a little too similar.

On the surface, Gore Verbinski's Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die is an outlandish sci-fi comedy, but there is a wealth of smart, bleak societal commentary peppered throughout the script. Audiences get to see how technology has absolutely destroyed the way humans live, grieve, and interact with each other. The storyline's progression does nothing but increase the viewers' faith in the unnamed man from the future. While the film takes place in an alternative society, it looks identical to our own and it's not hard to visualize ourselves in a similar situation; slowly losing our humanity to A.I., virtual reality, and corporate advertising.

With the rise of A.I. in recent years, it's easy to see where Gore Verbinski got the idea for this film. A society that values comfortable lies over harsh truths? One full of people who would sooner choose a virtual world over their own mediocre lives? It doesn't take an expert to see that the filmmakers behind Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die are fed-up with our technology-saturated society, and I can't say I disagree. The world is in shambles and it feels like decency is a long-lost art when technology has made us more impatient, dumb, and ruthless than ever. Hopefully those who see this film will truly listen to the message Verbinski and company are trying to get across.

Sam Rockwell's performance is the centerpiece of this film and he is absolutely electrifying! He brings so much charisma and life to this character, it's no wonder he was able to round up such a large group of followers. He's scatterbrained, but dead-set on accomplishing his goal, doing so with tact and humor. He has a fun script to play with and when paired with Gore Verbinski's directing style, you get a character so memorable you almost forget he doesn't even have a name. Showing no signs of stopping, I'm confident that his third Oscar is just around the corner. Casting is important for films that are cautionary tales, and Sam Rockwell is charismatic enough for audiences to actually heed his advice.

As a movie, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die is exactly what the world needs right now. It has the benefit of not only great performances, but solid social commentary and a rollercoaster of a script that will keep audiences on their toes. It'll make a worthwhile trip to the local cinema.