Film Review – Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die

February 12th, 2026 | POSTED BY Allen Almachar

From its opening minutes, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2026) aims to test our patience. A man dressed in a plastic raincoat, wrapped in all sorts of tubes and wires, and wearing explosives on his chest walks into a late-night diner. He goes on a long rant saying he is from the future, that society has fallen due to its increasing dependence on technology and social media, and that he has journeyed through time to help save the world from an evil A.I. He goes around the restaurant pleading his case like a mad man, advising that he must recruit a specific group of people to help him on his mission. Describing himself as humanity’s savior with a bomb strapped to his chest kinda sends mixed messages, no? Imagine sitting down at a table trying to enjoy your coffee or slice of apple pie, and this guy comes in and causes a ruckus. 

From that point on, the film gets increasingly obnoxious. Director Gore Verbinski (with screenwriter Matthew Robinson) weaves a sci-fi fantasy that preaches to the choir but does so with over-the-top flamboyance. This isn’t saying anything that many aren’t already in agreement with. Yes, society is getting increasingly reliant on technology, where scrolling through social media has replaced actual human interaction. The feeling of validation has been tied to how many likes someone gets on their posts. People see each other more through their phones and tablets rather than face to face. Artificial Intelligence poses a real risk to human ingenuity and intuition, etc. These are all very real, modern concerns. But the narrative screams to the rafters as if it just made this discovery and wants to share with anyone willing (or even unwilling) to listen.

I don’t have an issue with movies that are wacky, over the top, or irreverent. Terry Gilliam is a master of this exaggerated style. There are instances here that reminded me of his work in Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), and 12 Monkeys (1995). But what separates Gilliam’s projects to this is the human factor. At his best, Gilliam doesn’t cut corners with the emotion and heart of his characters. That element is sorely lacking in Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. The Man From the Future (Sam Rockwell) does not come off as convincing in the least, and it’s farfetched that anyone would join him. However, against all reason, some decide to join the fight, including teachers Mark (Michael Peña) and Janet (Zazie Beetz), Susan (Juno Temple) who we learn is a grieving mother, and Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson) who works as a princess for birthday parties. The cast is a collection of charismatic and talented actors, but they are hampered with characters that don’t utilize their skillsets well enough. It’s strange how any of them would be so easily convinced by a stranger to put their lives at risk.

The main narrative thrust involves The Man From the Future leading his group undetected to a secret location on the other side of town. The goal: stop an A.I. entity from gaining power. However, the plot structure undermines the tension by adding several flashback scenes. The editing cuts back and forth between the present and the past, tracing how the characters ended up at the diner to begin with. The film essentially becomes an anthology, detailing each character’s relationship with the downside of tech. We see Mark and Janet escaping their students, who have become zombified with their phones. For Susan, she uses tech as a last means of communicating with her loved ones, preventing her from moving on. And as for Ingrid, she watches in horror as her boyfriend quickly becomes addicted to virtual reality headsets – diving into a digitized world without her. The arrangement of these sequences with the central story is clunky. Often, scenes will awkwardly cut midstream to another time and place. The effect is jarring. Whatever momentum is built dissipates with the abrupt and mismanaged transitions.

Gore Verbinski is a reliable director who is fully capable of staging big spectacular sequences – as proven in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He can also take on smaller, intimate settings (see The Ring or The Weather Man). Here, he lets loose with how broad and amplified the narrative allows him. There is an increasing level of audacity the further along we go. To Verbinski’s credit, he really swings for the fences. By the time our characters go head-to-head with fantastical creatures of all shapes and sizes, we realize Verbinski ain’t holding back. But I wonder if he pushed the limit a little too far. For all the gonzo craziness, the film loses sight of its themes. The tone incorporates a tongue-in-cheek, dry, satirical approach, but that might be more of a hindrance to the overall effect. The cast plays their respective parts as well as they can, but for all the hullabaloo happening, the thematic threads are a little too simplified. Whatever insights or commentary there might be gets lost in the chaos swirling around.

There are bits I did admire, especially early on. Mark and Janet’s escape from their students is a fun sequence, as they quickly realize that everyone has become hypnotized by their phones. There’s a Night of the Living Dead (1968) or Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) element at play, in how everyday people turn into soulless pawns looking to ensnare anyone who doesn’t share in their hive mind. Although scenes were uneven when strung together, I was drawn to singular interactions, action beats, and performances. Haley Lu Richardson’s portion as Ingrid stands out as one of the better pieces. Ingrid’s work as a princess for hire has her wearing the same outfits and seeing the same cakes, presents, and decorations day in and day out. She already has familiarity with conformity, and seeing her boyfriend succumb to the addiction of virtual reality is a further extension of that. Juno Temple is another promising example. She gives warmth and tenderness to Susan, a mother still clinging to the last remnants of her loved ones. Susan’s story is probably the saddest and most heartfelt of everyone we meet.

Verbinski and his crew created a film that is clearly an acquired taste. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die wasn’t made for broad audience appeal – I could see it gaining a small but dedicated cult following. Unfortunately, I was never able to get on its wavelength. I appreciate its commitment to being as wacky and unconventional as possible, but at a certain point the quirkiness became abrasive. You know those people who try way too hard to impress others with how smart or clever they are, only for it to backfire on them? This is the cinematic equivalent of that.

12 Monkeys, Brazil, Featured, Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die, Gore Verbinski, Haley Lu Richardson, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Juno Temple, Matthew Robinson, Michael Peña, Night of the Living Dead, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Sam Rockwell, Terry Gilliam, The Ring, The Weather Man, Time Bandits, Zazie Beetz