The Long Walk – Film Review

Cast: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Joshua Odjick, Judy Greer, Mark Hamill

Director: Francis Lawrence

Synopsis: In a dystopian United States, 50 teenage boys must walk until only one is left standing…

Review: Throughout the long history of the United States, the notion of the country descending into a nightmarish hellscape ruled by an authoritarian regime should not feel relevant in modern times. Yet, given its current leader and the state of the world in general, it remains an all-too-familiar reality. A 1979 novel written by the one and only Stephen King (under the pseudonym Richard Bachman) feels more pertinent than ever, given the hellish state of the country today. In Francis Lawrence, a director who knows a thing or two about helming multiple films set in a dystopian US devastated by civil war, having directed all but one of the films in The Hunger Games franchise. A franchise which also featured brutal contests where participants fought for survival until only one remained, there couldn’t be a more apt director to translate a depressingly relevant visualisation of the US to the big screen.

Set in an alternate 20^th century, in an attempt to inspire patriotism and imbue a work ethic among its citizens amid a severe economic downturn, the brutal totalitarian military regime in charge of the country set up an annual competition known as The Long Walk. 50 teenage boys, one from each state, are selected to compete. The rules are simple: they must walk for hundreds of miles across an open road at a pace of three miles per hour until there is only one competitor left standing. Any competitor who falls below that pace is given three warnings to get back up to speed. If they fail to do so after the third warning, they will have their “ticket punched” by the armed soldiers patrolling the route, with a bullet.

Four dozen impoverished souls walking for miles across nothing but flat terrain, occasionally breaking through the sparse pockets of civilisation, could quickly become tedious and monotonous. However, over 108 utterly absorbing and tense minutes, JT Mollner’s screenplay keeps the proceedings moving swiftly and remains intensely gripping by focusing on these young men, pushed into this dangerous and gruelling trek, as they cling to the hope of being the victor. In a contest where the winner will claim a substantial cash prize and the chance to have one wish granted, it seems unlikely that any bonds will form among the walkers. Yet, this is precisely what makes the film so compelling. Some choose to form alliances, while others resort to antagonistic tactics. As the miles pass and day turns into night, then into the next day, the sound of gunfire as numerous competitors are eliminated shocks those remaining into continuing to put one foot in front of the other. It never once loses momentum.

Such is the strong brotherhood that forms between a handful of these young men, it wouldn’t nearly be as impactful if it were not for excellent performances across the board. As the central protagonist, Cooper Hoffman’s Ray Garraty is motivated to partake in the walk due to deeply personal circumstances. The bond he forms, particularly with David Jonsson’s Peter McVries, is the relationship that drives the film forward. Jonsson, once again proving what a phenomenal talent he is, exudes charisma and determination even in the face of such gruelling and unforgiving circumstances that the other boys, including Ben Wang’s Hank, Charlie Plummer’s Gary and Garrett Wareing’s Billy, rally around him. The boys are also united by their burning hatred for the callous Major, an extremely effective villainous performance by Mark Hamill, channelling the ruthlessness and gruffness of Full Metal Jacket’s Sergeant Hartman.

Having been somewhat held back by the constraints of The Hunger Games franchise in portraying the violence of the games, Lawrence faces no such restrictions here. The manner in which those who fall behind and, for whatever reason, be it injury, a need to relieve themselves, or just plain exhaustion, do not get back up to speed is unflinching and brutally violent. It is uncompromising in the depiction of a regime which will not hesitate to use military violence and intimidation to keep people in line, an ominous parallel to the 21st-century America, where the so-called leader of the free world has demonstrated his desire to deploy military force against his own people.

While the film could have offered more context about the war that led to the fall of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism, it also could have done without such an abrupt and rushed ending. Nevertheless, the relevance of this story, first written by King nearly 50 years ago, strikes a powerful chord in today’s political climate. It serves as a vital reminder that, even in the face of brutal authoritarian rule, humanity must persist, continue, and fight on, even if you have walked for hundreds of miles, and the temptation to give up may be overwhelming.

Bolstered by a pair of gripping performances from Hoffman and Jonsson, The Long Walk is a tense and powerful tale of the human spirit and the necessary struggle to take a stand in the fight against oppression and authoritarianism.

Moonfall – Film Review

Cast: Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Pena, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Donald Sutherland

Director: Roland Emmerich

Synopsis: When the moon is mysteriously knocked from its orbit, it threatens to cause a global catastrophe that would endanger all life on Earth…

Review: There’s something that’s oddly fascinating about the concept of a disaster movie. It’s something we hope we never actually have to live through, but when done well, it can be oddly entertaining to watch entire cities get obliterated as nature takes its revenge on us. There’s perhaps no one more synonymous with this genre than Roland Emmerich. One look at his filmography and it’s clear that he’s a director with a penchant for global destruction. So, you’d have thought that combining the concept of Earth’s only natural satellite falling out of the sky and destroying our planet, with a director whose modus operandi is worldwide global destruction would surely be a match made in disaster movie heaven? Well, no, not really.

Several years ago, astronaut Brian Harper (Wilson) was working on a routine mission with fellow astronaut Jocinda Fowler (Berry). However, the mission ends in tragedy and consequently, Harper’s reputation as a renowned astronaut is destroyed. When conspiracy theorist KC Houseman (Bradley), uncovers evidence that the moon has been knocked from its orbit, he tries to warn NASA of the impending doom, but is immediately dismissed. However, as catastrophic events start occurring across the globe, Fowler is left with little choice but to recruit Harper and Houseman for a last gasp mission to save Planet Earth before the impending moon fall destroys the planet.

To give credit where credit is due, the concept of the Moon falling off course and colliding with the planet is an extremely eccentric idea. It would certainly have been interesting to have been a fly on the wall when the concept was first pitched. The originality of the premise offers the opportunity to provide some visually eye-catching sequences, which the film does deliver. However, this is about the extent to which the film offers something that’s truly unique as the scenes of global destruction, such as massive tidal waves obliterating everything in their path, are things that we’ve seen disaster movies do countless times before. Such an idiosyncratic concept provided Emmerich with an opportunity to give audiences something as iconic as seeing the White House get blown to smithereens by an alien ship, but it failed to seize that opportunity.

Given such an absurdly bonkers premise, it would seem counterintuitive of the script to try and use science and logic to try and explain why these mysterious events are occurring. However, for some inexplicable reason, this is exactly what the film attempts. Logic and science should have been flung out of the window immediately, as these attempts to explain these events just do not serve the story in any shape or form. For the simple reason that no matter which way you slice it, the plot does not make an iota of sense at all. What should be a fun adventure of seeing a team of astronauts attempt to prevent total global destruction, becomes an unintentional comedy. This becomes all the more apparent, especially when the bigger picture of the reason why the Moon is falling comes into view.

When a script is this ridiculous, it does not make a difference as to who you cast, because every single character here is as paper-thin as they come. Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson to their credit, do try their hardest, but to no avail. The character development, if you can really call it that, is non-existent. They’re also not helped by the fact that they’re given some of the cheesiest dialogue that you’re ever likely to hear. The primary focus should be the mission to investigate why the Moon is falling out of orbit and the ludicrously improbable mission to reverse it before it’s too late. However, the film also wastes an enormous amount of time focusing on bland and forgettable side characters that are nowhere near as interesting or compelling as the main crew. This should have been perfectly entertaining, leave-your-brain-at-home disaster movie entertainment. Which, in many ways, it is, but probably not in the way Emmerich intended it to be. Instead of laughing with it, you’re uproariously laughing at it.

In the hands of the master of disaster, this absurd concept should have been an absolute blast of lunar-themed destruction. However, it ultimately ends up being too ridiculous for its own good.