Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die: A Promising Premise That Loses Its Way
Oscar winner Sam Rockwell takes center stage in Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, playing an eccentric time traveler on a mission to save humanity from the perils of artificial intelligence and social media. Directed by Gore Verbinski in his first feature film in nearly a decade, this sci-fi satire boasts a compelling concept but ultimately fails to deliver a cohesive cinematic experience.
A Strong Start With Familiar Echoes
The film opens with Rockwell's unnamed character dramatically entering a diner, warning patrons about the dangers of technology while wearing a homemade bomb vest. He reveals this is his 117th attempt to recruit the right team to prevent a dystopian future. Rockwell's charismatic performance shines here, though the role feels somewhat familiar for the accomplished actor.
The narrative borrows heavily from established classics, with clear influences from Groundhog Day and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. While the premise entertains initially, the film's ambition to tackle multiple technological evils simultaneously becomes its undoing.
An Uneven Ensemble Cast
Rockwell assembles a motley crew of recruits including married teachers Mark and Janet (Michael Peña and Zazie Beetz), grieving mother Susan (Juno Temple), Uber driver Scott (Asim Chaudhry), and Wi-Fi allergic party princess Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson). The film alternates between character vignettes exploring how technology has damaged their lives and the central mission narrative.
Juno Temple delivers the film's standout performance as Susan, a mother grappling with the opportunity to create an AI clone of her son killed in a school shooting. Her storyline presents such compelling ethical dilemmas that it could have sustained an entire film on its own. Haley Lu Richardson's subplot about her partner's VR addiction also shows promise but gets lost in the sprawling narrative.
Visual Creativity Amid Narrative Confusion
The film features several visually striking elements including antagonists in pig masks, phone-addicted youth armies, and a particularly bizarre giant cat-horse creature that combines glitter-spewing with cannibalistic tendencies. These creative flourishes demonstrate Verbinski's visual imagination but contribute to the film's overall lack of focus.
At two hours and fourteen minutes, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die feels excessively long and convoluted. The final act becomes particularly muddled, with developments that too closely mirror Terminator 2 rather than forging its own path.
Final Assessment
While Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die contains admirable elements including strong performances from Rockwell and Temple, the film ultimately fails to coalesce into a satisfying whole. Its doom-and-gloom predictions about technology's future, while not entirely unfounded, contribute to an overall experience that feels more depressing than revolutionary.
The film's release in UK and Irish cinemas on February 20, 2026, marks Gore Verbinski's return to feature filmmaking after nearly ten years, but this ambitious tech satire struggles to balance its multiple narrative threads and thematic ambitions.
