Gore Verbinski returns from his 10-year directing hiatus to remind society that the world is falling apart. We’re on the precipice of disaster and choosing to jump off the cliff anyway. A.I. isn’t as fun when it goes from a far-off utopia to concretely and negatively impacting your day-to-day. As I write this, an A.I-Generated video of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise fighting is spreading across the internet. Trillions of dollars are being shared back and forth between a handful of companies, and the U.S. Congress and other global governments are uninterested in creating a safety net. If this sounds like a bummer, hold on to your butts, because Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is here to share some unpleasant truths about where smartphones and social media will lead us.
We open in a diner, where a belligerent, seemingly unhoused man ( Sam Rockwell ) yells at the patrons enjoying their food. “I am from the future, and all of this goes horribly wrong!” There is a pending A.I.-caused apocalypse, and he needs volunteers to help save the world. Some combination of diners will help him stave off the cataclysmic events that doom the world. He explains he’s done this 117 times already, but maybe this will be the time it works. After much consternation and intimate secrets revealed, he recruits a party girl ( Haley Lu Richardson ), growing long in the tooth for her lifestyle, a grieving mother ( Juno Temple ), a high school teacher ( Zazie Beetz ), her underachieving husband ( Michael Peña ), an Uber driver (Asim Chaudhry), and a woman who just really wanted a slice of pie (Georgia Goodman).
The quest to prevent the end of the world often gets interrupted. The length of the film is where it might lose viewers. With a large ensemble, everyone gets an origin story, and some of them aren’t as compelling as others. The portrayals are relatable and grounded: Richardson, Temple, Beetz, and Peña are highlights of the ensemble. Though, in all honesty, this is Rockwell’s picture to lose. There’s no better choice of actor for someone who straddles the line between insanity and allure than Sam Rockwell. His hangdog charm draws you in despite everything about his appearance and behaviour screaming at you to run away. Verbinski and writer Matthew Robinson’s film is unabashedly weird, and only Rockwell could have led with a performance this shaggy and committed.
The Man from the Future (Rockwell) is not a fearless leader. He has no plan. He’s also more than willing to let other people die for the cause. He’s also not above threatening civilians to get what he wants. The threats don’t always work. A teen, disgusted by being asked to look up from their device, sneers, “You’re 35? That’s, like, older than most trees.”
Some audience members will feel attacked. Some will say that Verbinski is old and out of touch. And some won’t be able to keep from laughing, even when the laughs are pitch black. Dr. Strangelove wasn’t popular when it came out. Neither was Idiocracy . It’s easy to laugh at the suckers blowing themselves up in the past or the future. It requires a little more soul-searching to look in the mirror and ask who represents us on screen. Terminator 2 , Looper , Edge of Tomorrow , Source Code , Tenet , Déjà Vu . All of these films have shown that one person or one action can change the course of history. But it’s not that easy. As a league of disappointed idealists can attest, one person changes little by themselves.
The message of Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is scathing, so it’s not a surprise that a big studio wasn’t brave enough to finance this. Verbinski goes scorched Earth in several scenes, one featuring a company that makes its money by cloning teens who were killed in school shootings. Robinson’s script isn’t afraid to veer wildly from drama to slapstick comedy to nihilism. It touches on an emotional state that feels cathartic instead of preachy. On the technical end, Verbinski handles his duties capably. The special effects pass the eye test, and the pacing moves quickly for the most part. The cinematography is a tad drab, but that’s a deliberate choice to visually evoke despair. It doesn’t always work, but it’s easy to appreciate the intent behind it.
Similar to Everything Everywhere All at Once , but where that film wore its heart on its sleeve, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die bares its teeth. If it seems weird that the guy most known for making the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy is this angry about what’s ahead, that should concern us. Touching a live wire is bad for you, but watching its cinematic equivalent is equal parts fascinating and terrifying. Verbinski knows that this film won’t solve anything either, but it couldn’t hurt to try. In that regard, he’s just like his protagonist. Maybe we can enjoy the shared delusion before we walk back out into the daylight and the anxiety starts all over again.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die hits theatres on February 13, 2026.
