Intro: I didn't even know this movie existed before randomly watching a TikTok about the best movies that came out last year. This film was highly ranked and praised, so I was interested in giving it a go.
Film 2443: "The Long Walk" (2025), Francis Lawrence
Watched: From the computer
Language: English
Watched with: Luke
Thoughts: There are a lot of adaptations of a Stephen King's novel out there, and not all of them are good. This one is.
The idea behind this story is simple and effective: a group of teenage boys compete in an annual contest known as "The Long Walk," in which they must maintain a certain walking speed or get shot (IMDb). Walk for as long as you can—there's only one winner and no finish line.
In theory, it's insane to think that someone would willingly participate in this "competition," but for the sake of this story, I won't focus too much on that. Yes, there is a prize involved, but how desperate do you have to be to participate knowing that your chances of winning are 1 in 50?
Anyway, the premise of this film is intriguing, and the execution is overall extremely well made. I was skeptical at the beginning, as this is a story of constant movement with no fixed location. Before watching "The Long Walk," it's hard to picture how the movie is going to portray this concept—something that works well on paper but doesn't necessarily translate into what we consider a conventional storyline for the big screen. Yet, Francis Lawrence manages to deliver a cohesive and entertaining piece of media that is never boring or overstimulating for the audience, which I find extremely impressive. On top of that, all the actors deliver strong performances, and I was particularly impressed with Cooper Hoffman—the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman—who gives a solid performance.
Overall, this movie reminded me a lot of "The Hunger Games" franchise: a deadly competition, the promise of enduring glory for the winner, the voyeuristic aspect of it (the walk is live-streamed for the whole country to watch), and young adults competing against each other but eventually bonding over this sadistic experience. There's less background story here—we're thrown into the action almost immediately and never leave it until the end—yet the similarities with Suzanne Collins's story are still there. And I think it's only fitting that the same director delivered both this film and four out of the five "Hunger Games" movies. Chapeau.
Cast: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Jordan Gonzalez, Roman Griffin Davis, Josh Hamilton, Judy Greer, Mark Hamill.
Box Office: $63.1 million
Worth a watch?: Very tense and controversial, "The Long Walk" isn't a film for everyone, but it's definitely a good movie. If you enjoy dystopian survival thriller stories, this one can't be missed.
Awards: /
Key word: One wish.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi
Watched: From the computer
Language: English
Watched with: Luke
Thoughts: There are a lot of adaptations of a Stephen King's novel out there, and not all of them are good. This one is.
The idea behind this story is simple and effective: a group of teenage boys compete in an annual contest known as "The Long Walk," in which they must maintain a certain walking speed or get shot (IMDb). Walk for as long as you can—there's only one winner and no finish line.
In theory, it's insane to think that someone would willingly participate in this "competition," but for the sake of this story, I won't focus too much on that. Yes, there is a prize involved, but how desperate do you have to be to participate knowing that your chances of winning are 1 in 50?
Anyway, the premise of this film is intriguing, and the execution is overall extremely well made. I was skeptical at the beginning, as this is a story of constant movement with no fixed location. Before watching "The Long Walk," it's hard to picture how the movie is going to portray this concept—something that works well on paper but doesn't necessarily translate into what we consider a conventional storyline for the big screen. Yet, Francis Lawrence manages to deliver a cohesive and entertaining piece of media that is never boring or overstimulating for the audience, which I find extremely impressive. On top of that, all the actors deliver strong performances, and I was particularly impressed with Cooper Hoffman—the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman—who gives a solid performance.
Overall, this movie reminded me a lot of "The Hunger Games" franchise: a deadly competition, the promise of enduring glory for the winner, the voyeuristic aspect of it (the walk is live-streamed for the whole country to watch), and young adults competing against each other but eventually bonding over this sadistic experience. There's less background story here—we're thrown into the action almost immediately and never leave it until the end—yet the similarities with Suzanne Collins's story are still there. And I think it's only fitting that the same director delivered both this film and four out of the five "Hunger Games" movies. Chapeau.
Cast: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Jordan Gonzalez, Roman Griffin Davis, Josh Hamilton, Judy Greer, Mark Hamill.
Box Office: $63.1 million
Worth a watch?: Very tense and controversial, "The Long Walk" isn't a film for everyone, but it's definitely a good movie. If you enjoy dystopian survival thriller stories, this one can't be missed.
Awards: /
Key word: One wish.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi
