In the near future, where America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. The game is simple – maintain a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings, and you’re out – permanently.
What We Thought:
The Long Walk is a movie that is good for one viewing, but probably won’t get rewatched often. The young leads are great, but it feels like a ton of other movies and once you know who the winner is, do you really care to see it again?
Coming from director Francis Lawrence, the quickest comparison is to The Hunger Games. I’d also add Battle Royale and The Human Race. This film is based on a Stephen King story that does predate those though. King’s story is set during a dystopian era where boys from every state are chosen to compete in The Long Walk, a winner takes all event that viewers can watch at home. What viewers may not know is how the boys who fall behind are killed and if you wonder off path you get killed as well.
The movie opens with the audience being introduced to the group of boys. You instantly know who your leads will be and have people to root for and against. Mark Hamill (who’s not good in the film) leads the men in charge of killing the boys and getting the walkers to play along. The young leads are very good and I can see this film being a launching off point for a lot of them. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson have already made names for themselves in previous projects and I recognized a few others as well. Ten years from now we’ll probably look back at this film’s cast and be surprised at how many young actors came out of it.
Other than Hamill’s performance there really isn’t much wrong with The Long Walk, but will people want to watch it over and over again like other King adaptations? Knowing King’s political leanings I also figured out who was going to win, but I’m not upset with the choice. Watch it for the young actors and it’s a good watch, but don’t expect it to blow you away.
CAST:
- Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza, Saturday Night, Old Guy)
- David Jonsson (TV’s “Industry,” Alien: Romulus, Rye Lane)
- Garrett Wareing (TV’s “Ransom Canyon,” “Manifest,” “Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists”)
- Tut Nyuot (TV’s “The Witcher: Blood Origin,” “Small Axe,” “Dark Money”)
- Charlie Plummer (Lean on Pete, The Clovehitch Killer, TV’s “Looking for Alaska”)
- Ben Wang (Karate Kid: Legends, TV’s “American Born Chinese,” Mean Girls)
- Roman Griffin Davis (A Rare Grand Alignment, Silent Night, Jojo Rabbit)
- Jordan Gonzalez (Trans Los Angeles, TV’s “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin,” “The L Word: Generation Q”)
- Josh Hamilton (Eighth Grade, Alive, TV’s “The Walking Dead”)
- with Judy Greer (13 Going on 30, Halloween, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever)
- and Mark Hamill (Star Wars franchise, The Life of Chuck, Kingsman: Secret Service)
The Nerds Templar 