Producers: Gore Verbinski, Robert Kulzer, Erwin Stoff, Oliver Obst and Denise Chamian Director: Gore Verbinski Screenplay: Matthew Robinson Cast: Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chaudhry, Tom Taylor, Juno Temple, Georgia Goodman, Daniel Barnett, Artie Wilkinson-Hunt, Riccardo Drayton, Dino Fetscher, David Sturzaker and Dominique Maher Distributor: Briarcliff Entertainment
Grade: C+
Gore Verbinski’s first film in a decade is an ambitious fable about the dangers of A.I. It apparently took the director some time to secure funding for the project, so one can surmise that when Matthew Robinson wrote the screenplay, the subject was more cutting-edge than it is now, A.I. having become a common villainous trope in today’s action movies. As it is, “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” now might seem a bit behind the curve.
What’s distinctive are the approach it takes, a tone that’s goofily satirical as well as monitory, and the structure, which is like a video game. The result might remind you of Terry Gilliam’s work, and for those who love his films, it may prove a hoot. But it’s less clever than it aims to be, and in the end proves somewhat more grueling than amusing.
The plot is put in motion in a lengthy sequence set at a Norms Diner in Los Angeles, where customers are eating and scrolling on their phones one night when the place is suddenly invaded by a scruffy fellow (Sam Rockwell, sporting a dripping raincoat and a big beard) who announces he’s from the future. Most take him to be a typical bum, a mental case, and the cook orders him to leave, but he’s an aggressive sort and cows the crowd, saying this is his hundred and seventeenth effort to choose a crew of seven of them to cross town and end an imminent threat to humanity—or, more precisely, to a humanity free of control by the technology to which most have become increasingly addicted. All his previous attempts have failed, so he’s back to select yet another permutation of recruits from the diners, something he has to continue until he gets the combination right. (His motivation is eventually revealed in a flashback to the future, if that’s an acceptable phrase.)
His harangue goes on at length as he rejects some diners who’ve proven failures in previous attempts or others he thinks unsuitable, considers those who volunteer and forces others to join. He’s like a gamer who’s gone through the process myriad times and never reached the highest level of play, and is starting out from scratch again.
Ultimately, he has the seven he needs. One is Susan (Juno Temple), a morose woman whose reason for volunteering is revealed in a flashback involving the death of her son Darren (Riccardo Drayton) in a school shooting and the dead boy’s sort-of return in cloned form. Another is Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson), a girl in a ragged princess outfit whose backstory, again shown in an extended flashback, reveals that she’s allergic to every form of wireless technology. Then there are Mark and Janet (Michael Peña and Zazie Beetz), teachers who have fled their school, where students, we’re shown in another extended flashback, have been zombified by their dependence on their phones. The remaining three lack similar backstories. There’s Bob (Daniel Barnett), a slovenly assistant scout leader, volatile uber driver Scott (Asim Chaudhry) and reserved, pensive Samantha (Dominique Maher).
From here the movie becomes a gauntlet the newly-formed squad has to run on its way to a house across town, where the target—a bald nine-year old (Artie Wilkinson-Hunt) is obsessively working at his computer keyboard, forming patterns and equations that are already worming their way into phones like those controlling Mark and Janet’s students. First there’s an onslaught of police, and later of masked vigilantes. They will also have to face a wild-eyed street guy with a huge blade in hand, and a very peculiar kitty. Finally, they’ll have to deal with the boy’s parents and an array of toys that come to life to protect his work. Not all of the team survive the trials.
This sounds exciting and fun, but what’s surprising about it is that it’s not, at least not very. A major part of the problem is that the dangers are totally random. One doesn’t expect complete logic, of course, but an anything-can-happen vibe is of little help to those trying to play the game the movie poses for the audience’s side of the screen. And the final confrontation in the boy’s house seems to go on forever, though the cheesy effects there and elsewhere have a certain goofy charm.
There are also some choice bits along the way, some of which manage to combine dark humor and poignancy. Susan’s story, for example, delivers a strong satiric punch in the attitude that’s developed among the public about the frequency of school shootings, and the response to them in cloning techniques that allow parents to choose between “ad” and “ad-free” alternatives, as though restored children were like streaming services; the smirking jollity of the salesman (Dino Fetscher, a Ryan Reynolds type) is also a plus.
In Ingrid’s case, it’s the mixture of hope and despair that catches one unprepared. She seems to have found an ideal partner in Tim (Tom Taylor), a guy who’s as uninterested in technology as she must be because of her condition. But when he’s introduced serendipitously to the world of virtual reality, their life together is shattered.
Whether the coda to the adventure represents a satisfying close, however, is debatable. It fits with the snarky quality that’s pervaded the picture, without a doubt, and conforms to the idea that the house is fated to win the game when there’s a joker in the deck. But given the audience’s cheer when Ingrid gives her rousing battle cry, the twist is sure to leave a sour taste even in the most cynical mouth.
What’s obvious is the commitment with which the entire cast throw themselves into the proceedings; given that, it’s unfortunate that many of them are given too little top-flight material. That’s particularly the case with Rockwell, whose patented shambling charm can’t compensate for the fact that this Future Guy’s verbosity isn’t sprinkled with much wit; as a result the character becomes rather boring by the time he beams back to his own day. Temple and Richardson have greater variety at their disposal, and seize on every bit of it, while Peña is looser than usual, if still not ideally so. The rest do what’s asked of them, with Drayton earning a special nod as the kid who’s programmed, in his clone form, to periodically sing the praises of a fruit drink.
The tech crew also deserve praise for using what must have been limited resources so well. David Brisbin’s production design is far from opulent but works, and James Whitaker’s cinematography is basically functional but adequate, as is the editing of Craig Wood, who must have found dealing with such an episodic piece a challenge. The VFX supervised by Jessica Norman is sometimes laughably chintzy, but presumably that’s intentional, and Geoff Zanetti’s score reflects the wildly vacillating moods.
If “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” fails to completely pull off what it’s aiming for, and hardly matches the best of Verbinski’s earlier movies (e.g., “Rango”), it’s an improvement over the two bombs that effectively derailed his promising career—“The Lone Ranger” and “A Cure for Wellness.” In any case, it’s good to have him back, and one hopes he’ll stay around.