Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die

Summary

“Social media has robbed you of your dignity, and turned you all into children. Your fascist selfie culture has eroded your capacity for critical thinking.”

In February, Universal Pictures released Gore Verbinski’s first film in almost a decade – Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die – theatrically. The picture had been made for roughly twenty million and, despite a strong critical reception, the film only did $9.3 million at the box office. Dystopian science-fiction comedies seem to struggle at the box office, but they also tend to gain cult followings once they arrive on home video. I was very curious to check out the film, and Universal just released the picture on 4K UHD.

At Norm’s Diner, a very strangely dressed, potentially homeless man steps inside. He has tubes hanging off of him along with what might be a bomb under the plastic clothing. He claims to be a man from the future (Sam Rockwell,) and proceeds to explain that there is some combination of folks within that diner’s forty seven guests that have the power to destroy an artificial Intelligence that poses a grave danger to humanity. He threatens the diner with the bomb to maintain their attention, which causes a waitress to phone the police. He picks out grieving mother Susan (Juno Temple,) school teacher couple Mark (Michael Peña) and Janet (Zazie Beetz,) Uber driver Scott (Asim Chaudhry,) pie-loving Marie (Georgia Goodman,) and scouts leader Bob (Daniel Barnett.) This is not the first time that the man from the future has come back to defeat the AI – he has had more than a hundred attempts – but maybe this crew can make it across town to the home where the singularity is about to be achieved. As the film progresses, flashbacks reveal backstories for some of the characters that revolve around the dangers of our tech-driven society.

I have now watched Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die two times in a row since receiving it this last weekend. I had a blast watching it both times. The film is an engaging science-fiction fantasy adventure, but it is also a clever satire of the strange times we are currently living in. The script by Matthew Robinson dives into tackling our addiction to cell phones and virtual realities, the ways that technology is affecting teenagers and making them zombies (literally in this case,) the fear that the technology we are creating eventually could turn against us, and even brings the controversial issue of school shootings into its multi-layered plot. The film is darkly funny and very entertaining, while weighing in on all of those issues. Fans of Terry Gilliam should find themselves enjoying the meandering plot that Robinson has laid out, even if certain elements of the script probably could have been left out (I have watched the film twice and still can’t quite figure out the sequence involving a cat towards the end of the picture… but I shrugged that off considering how well the rest of the movie’s plot devices worked.)

Gore Verbinski directed the film with skill; setting up exceptional action set pieces, and keeping the frenetic pace of the film without causing viewers to feel exhausted by the end of the picture. That is a hell of an accomplishment when you consider the film runs more than two hours long and doesn’t slow its pace for the duration. The cinematography by James Whitacre is striking. Whitacre had served as cinematographer on the excellent Thank You for Smoking in 2005, but this is his most notable work since that film, and will be a calling card work for him. Verbinski and Whitacre paired very well together and the movie looks fantastic. The synth-heavy soundtrack by Geoff Zanelli absolutely slaps. The bass drops at the exact time that it could cause maximum effect. There is whimsy and menace as the score plays out, and it works exceptionally well.

The cast of the picture is stacked. As one might expect, Sam Rockwell is the main attraction here. Rockwell has built up a career playing memorable side characters (Vice, Seven Psychopaths, Matchstick Men,) but I love when he is given a chance to lead a film like in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The versatile actor had recently wowed me with an amazing small performance in The White Lotus, and it was great to see him lead this film. He has the exact right energy and temperament for the role of the Man from the Future, and absolutely delivers. He is surrounded by exceptional supporting actors including Juno Temple, Zazie Beetz, Miguel Peña, and newcomer Asim Chaudhry. Haley Lu Richardson does a great job in the role of Ingrid. Everyone brings something  the film and they all play well off of one another.

You can probably tell from above, but I thoroughly enjoyed Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. While some elements of the script might cause some confusion for me, the movie is such a fun and entertaining ride that I can’t help but fully endorse it. If this film was really made for $20 million, I have no idea why so many pictures with far greater budgets deliver far less thrills.

Video

Universal Pictures presents Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die on 4K UHD with both HDR and Dolby Vision in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Cinematographer James Whitacre collaborated wonderfully with director Gore Verbinski to leave a really strong visual impression. Shooting the film on 4.5K RAW digital film on Arri Alexa Mini LFs with Panavision Panaspeed lenses, they shot a really striking picture. The HDR and Dolby Vision bring the best out of the 4K digital elements, and the film looks great.

Audio

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die features a very well made Dolby Atmos surround track. There is a lot of action in this film, and the picture benefits from a truly fantastic score by Geoff Zanelli. Directionality and immersion are top notch.

Supplements:

• The Making of Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.75/5

Audio – 4.75/5

Supplements – 1/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is an entertaining and unhinged science fiction adventure fantasy that leans heavily into dark satire of our very strange times. Gore Verbinski directs the film with style with help from cinematographer James Whitacre. I hope that these two continue to pair up with each other given the results. The ensemble cast of the film, led by a tremendous performance by Sam Rockwell, is wonderful with strong turns by Juno Temple, Zazie Beetz, Miguel Peña, and Haley Lu Richardson. The score by Geoff Zanelli is terrific. Overall, I had a blast watching the film and was happy to revisit it just a day later. I talk a lot about films that I believe will find cult status, and I truly think that this picture will develop a following quickly on streaming services and home video. I look forward to seeing what screenwriter Matthew Robinson comes up with next, because he has my full attention. The Universal Pictures 4K has great video and audio specs, but sadly only has a five minute EPK as its sole special feature. Definitely check this one out!

The film can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com.