Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die! [2026]

A man claiming to be from the future convinces a handful of diner patrons to join him in taking down an AI in Gore Verbinski’s wild sci-fi comedy-adventure Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die!

I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since Gore Verbinski directed a film! I swear A Cure for Wellness just came out!  The Pirates of the Caribbean director has had a long break, but damn, I’m glad he’s back. His return is a welcome one, bringing Sam Rockwell along for a rollicking good time, with a pace and energy that make one of the year’s most outrageous and inventive films. Sure, it’s only February, but the film is titled Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. Can’t beat that for setting the irrelevant and hilarious tone. Just try to say that without a burst of energy in your voice. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die takes all the manic energy of Verbinski’s first film, Mouse Hunt, and combines it with the big-budget blockbuster ideals of the Pirates movies. It’s big, loud, with a lot to say, and the best ways to say it.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is all about the terrors and dangers of Artificial Intelligence, as so many films are today. But the way it does so is a satirical madness of invention and innovation. But it’s more than a “uh oh AI”, but a satire of the modern world, exploring our reliance on technology, becoming doomscrolling zombies, violence in our schools, disconnection from one another, and more. The script by Matthew Robinson, who previously wrote Love and Monsters, deftly introduces a plethora of ideas, themes, characters, the world, and movements, building a beautiful balance, shifting and changing. It’s irrelevant and wild, rushing (in a good way) through so much. Darkly funny, surprisingly tellingly, poignant at moments, coldly chilling in the world it’s building and fear of what might come. There’s a simmering, vast, unknowable nature to how the AI plays that is wonderful to take in as it comes fast and furious.  

It’s an evening at a diner in Los Angeles. A man bursts in with important, life-changing news. Everything is about to go to hell. This isn’t the highly underrated Miracle Mile, but our setup for Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die!  The man is one of my favorite actors, Sam Rockwell, bringing everything he has and more; dressed in a helluva costume: a clear poncho covered in bits and bobs, bits out the wazoo. He claims he’s from the future, he needs a group to take down the AI before it goes big this night, and he’s done this 117 times before. Maybe tonight will be the one that works. Terminator 2: Judgement Day with a dash of set-up from Groundhog Day (though I will share it’s not a time loop movie in that way). 

He gathers a gang: teachers Michael Pena and Zazie Beets, grieving mother Juno Temple, and princess in a dirty dress, Hailey Lou Richardson. Each has their own travails with modern technology, explored in flashes of backstory. If there’s anything that might not fully work in the film, it’s that the flashbacks tend to be a little long and on the nose. They are presented a little oddly. But it is odd, the whole film is. It’s a film of seemingly random (ultimately with purpose), strange shifts in tone and story. It throws everything and anything out, taking risks and unexpected alleys of storytelling. One can never tell what’s going to happen next. I can absolutely see the general audiences turning on it for not being as expected or not fully explaining the satirical/magical realism (“technical realism” to be honest, is that term? It is now) aspects. It expects you to pick it up and take it. But me, I wholly loved the madcap.

It’s great to see Verbindski firing on all cylinders. Across his career, including The Ring and Rango, he’s never been one to play it safe. He takes his films on wild turns with a fantastic use of the camera, bumping of beats in story progression, and a clear knowledge of exactly what he’s doing. On a technical end, the cinematography by James Whitaker helps greatly to sell the satire, the bland beiges of aspects, and the bright wildness of the action. Like everything else, it shifts to create the right one and atmosphere. Craig Wood, editor of Vorbinski’s previous films, continues with a special zip, floating and smashing through using edits for punchlines and movement. It’s already a very funny film, made more so by the way it’s cut. 

It’s just a flash of boom to watch Rockwell do his stuff. From his early role in Box of Moonlight (a 1996 indie with John Tururro, seek it out), Galaxy Quest, Moon, The Green Mile (still the best Stephen King movie), and even in dreck like Argyle, he can be relied upon to give a commanding, large, and memorable performance. As “Man from the Future”, he’s completely in his wheelhouse, electric and large. Rockwell works at 100% at all times; it’s his movie, and we’re just along for the ride. 

The supporting cast is just as strong. Haley Lu Richardson is incredible. I loved her Support the Girls and Columbus and expected her to blow up after those. I know she’s on White Lotus and has had a solid career, but I want her to be a star. Michael Pena and Zazie Beets have great chemistry and get plenty of moments. Ted Lasso’s Juno Temple carries the film’s heart and emotion in an unassuming but touching way. In addition, there are a slew of smaller bits that make big impressions. 

Gore Verbinski’s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is raucous and wild, incredibly inventive and fun, with much to say of the state of our modern and future world with a satirical world view. Led by Sam Rockwell at most Sam Rockwell-iest, it’s a total blast of a flick and an early favorite of the year.