The long Walk

The Long Walk

Directed by Francis Lawrence 

In the not too distant future, the United States as we know it is recovering from a devastating war. Economically barren and spirits low, every young man across the country tries for a lottery to participate in The Long Walk. One man from every state must walk, nonstop day and night until there is only one left. Winner gets rich, of course.

Why? The movie keeps telling us that the event raises American productivity by inspiring the nation. It never really shows us how or why, we're just supposed to take their word for it. THE LONG WALK is based on a Stephen King story and all of his Young Man archetypes are here. The Jock, the Nerd, the Mysterious One and so on and so forth. These are all pretty thinly sketched characters and you would think a movie of almost entirely walking and talking would have the deepest most complex developed characters. 

That's not the case, but the terrific cast does their best with the material. A healthy mix of Nepo Babies and up & comers, the film stars Cooper Hoffman (son of Philip Seymour) and David Jonsson (last year's ALIEN: ROMULUS). Their bond and friendship is what ultimately carries the unrelenting bleakness of the movie. These 2 are the heart and soul but are saddled with one hell of a clunky ass script. 

There's nonstop graphic violence as well as uncomfortably gross moments. It's dystopian and bleak and ultimately boring! I was also not a fan of the barrage of homophobic/gay panic jokes. Sure a bit here and there but it was happening so frequently I genuinely thought a character would come out as queer. (Spoiler Alert: they do not)

The Feel Bad Movie of the Year. I'm over it.

☆1/2 out of 4