Director: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chaudhry, Juno Temple
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 134 mins

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a new sci-fi thriller by Gore Verbinski, the director’s first film since the underrated A Cure For Wellness back in 2016. Sam Rockwell stars as the unnamed ‘man from the future’ who rocks up at a Los Angeles diner as the film opens and announces to the patrons he is there to save the world from a rogue artificial intelligence and needs volunteers to help him. It transpires this is his 117th attempt and his knowledge of the customers from when they’ve helped him before convinces some to join his cause. Once he’s assembled a team, we then follow the group’s journey (which begins from trying to escape the diner while it’s surrounded by police) which is intercut with flashbacks that provide a backstory to some of the diner patrons.

Although the film looked pretty rote from the trailers, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is fortunately a very entertaining piece with a biting and thought-provoking message at its core on phone use and the rise of AI. If you want a film that will discourage you from mindlessly doomscrolling on your phone, this is it. There’s some thrilling set-pieces and inventive visuals too. That the film only has a $20 million budget is frankly staggering – this looks like a much more expensive film, especially considering Verbinski’s previous experience with big-budget fare, such as Pirates of the Caribbean or The Lone Ranger.

Comparisons have been made to Everything Everywhere All At Once, which is fair from a visual standpoint – this is equally exaggerated, but I vastly prefer this film for its focussed storytelling. Props to screenwriter Matthew Robinson for dreaming up the concept – and it fits considering his back catalogue because he co-wrote and co-directed The Invention of Lying with Ricky Gervais. That Verbinski has then been able to realise Robinson’s vision with gorgeous cinematography and fun performances cements this film’s success. It’s also by far and away the best score Geoff Zanelli’s ever produced, who I’ve been very sniffy on in the past, with memorable and romping themes.

Sam Rockwell’s effortless as the tramp-like ‘man from the future’ and full of charisma. There’s plenty of meat to the bone with the cohort he assembles – Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz and Juno Temple all get profound Black Mirror-esque backstories (that don’t feel derivative), but it’s Haley Lu Richardson who’s the real highlight as Ingrid, a woman with an allergy to electronic devices.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is overall a return to form for Gore Verbinski after a decade’s hiatus (although I really enjoyed A Cure For Wellness) with a lively story that barrels along at an energetic pace with an important warning message about mankind’s increasing technology use. Its committed performances are supported by inventive visuals that really pop and some profound sequences, especially its climax. I’m excited to see what’s next in store for Verbinski and Robinson.