Director: Gore Verbinksi
Writer: Matthew Robinson
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, Zazie Beetz
Synopsis: A “Man From the Future” arrives at a diner in Los Angeles where he must recruit the precise combination of disgruntled patrons to join him on a one-night quest to save the world from the terminal threat of a rogue artificial intelligence
The time travel movie may be one of the most entertaining and frustrating subgenres in science fiction. As Looper taught us, if you don’t think too hard about the ins and outs, you might be fine. But it does cause some infinitely troubling loops. Ok, sure, the murderous AI sent a Terminator back to kill the would-be mother of the leader of the resistance. It didn’t work, so why not just go back and try it again? The real answer, of course, is that it would make a really boring sequel. But it still makes for an interesting thought experiment. What if the time traveler simply learned from their mistakes and just tried different versions of the same plan to figure out what the correct combination might be. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die takes a look at this idea, at least in its introductory scene.
It should be noted that, like many Gore Verbinski (Welcome back!) films, it is about much more than this, but we must begin at the beginning. That opening, headed by The Man From The Future (Sam Rockwell), quickly informs us that, due to the preponderance of Artificial Intelligence, everything has gone wrong. Verbinski points his finger at a number of targets here (AI, phone usage, school shootings), but rest assured, the world in the future is terrible. In order to combat this in the past, he arrives at Norm’s Diner looking part-time-traveler and part-living on the streets. He dons a plastic raincoat and what appears to be bombs strapped to his vest. But he assures us that this is the height of fashion in his time. More importantly, he has returned to this diner, yet again, because he knows that the right combination of people are there to help him stop the AI from getting too powerful. Again, don’t think too hard about how he knows this. Even though he sounds off his rocker, he quickly proves that he knows many things he should not about the individuals in said diner, and Rockwell’s charms shine through. Truly, only Sam Rockwell could play this part and not turn us all off to his supposedly important mission.
This is an old trope, but a good one. He must choose his team, like a much more pedestrian Fellowship of the Rings. Unsurprisingly, after he chooses his compatriots (under some amount of duress), the film branches off into different timelines. First, Mark (Michael Peña) and Janet (Zazie Beetz) as schoolteachers dealing with disaffected, disconnected students at a high school, where the zombie parallels are quite obvious. We are also introduced to Susan (Juno Temple), who has lost her son in a school shooting. Finally, we are shown Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson), dressed in a princess outfit whom Future Man doesn’t want along, but he relents. There is also a Boy Scout troop leader, an Uber driver, and a woman who has had a hard day at work and simply came to Norm’s for a slice of pie. This motley crew is certainly an odd one, though it becomes clear who will be important to the story and who will vanish in one way or another.
As the backstories start to reveal themselves, it is clear that Verbinski has a lot to say. His (and screenwriter Matthew Robinson) aim is not exactly pinpoint, but at least there is never a dull moment. Despite the fact that there are a few pacing issues and odd special effects choices (especially near the climax), I can guarantee you will never be bored. There is one particular creature design that nearly led me to shout in excitement. This moment (I will not ruin it) leads to the biggest laughs and reactions of the long runtime. Of course, all of this is to be expected from the director of A Cure For Wellness. Verbinski is a bit of a kitchen sink, maximalist director and that is fully on display here, for both better and worse. There are seemingly a thousand references one might notice, from Toy Story to just about any video game you might think of. On the other hand, some of the background story plotlines are surprisingly inspired.
The highlight features Susan who, after losing her child in that shooting, is given the opportunity to clone her son. But we no longer live in the world of high tech cloning facilities that look foreign to us. Here, she meets with essentially an Apple store employee who guides her through the process. Using the streamlined look that we are all familiar with is a stroke of genius that helps us connect to a story that can be excessive. This process includes the good and bad quirks of her son’s personality, should she want to make changes. It is expensive, but luckily the government subsidizes the cost, given that they seem to be uninterested in gun control issues. Susan is given a cheaper option that includes her son spouting advertisements once per day. None of this is subtle in the least, but it is darkly funny. Despite that darkness, it is actually a gentler version of the reaction to school shootings than our current reality, so kudos to Robinson and Verbinski.
Even if the script takes on much more than it can handle, the cast is well up to the task. Besides Rockwell, the standout (as usual) is Haley Lu Richardson. She is given a lot to carry on her shoulders as far as the emotional arcs and also is saddled with what is described as an allergic reaction to technology. Of course, this allergy involves bleeding from the nose because…well because it looks cool, I suppose. But nevertheless, she manages humor, emotional depth. and a sense of reality in a film that desperately needs it.
Frankly, the film is most interested in accusing our world of, if not deserving of its horrible fate, than needing to make drastic changes to avoid it. It certainly helps that there are jokes around every corner to soften the blow and a completely game cast who is clearly down for anything. The messages may not be subtle, or even new, but it all comes together well enough to be a pretty easy recommendation. Sure, it could use a streamlined story and move quicker in some moments, but having Gore Verbinksi back to create audacious images on screen is a net positive for all of us.
