Acclaimed director and screenwriter Gore Verbinski has returned in style after a 10-year absence with his latest action-comedy “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.”
Best known for “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” and “Rango,” Verbinski has moved on from swashbuckling sailors and cowboy chameleons. This time, he’s opened up a whole new can of worms: artificial intelligence.
The film follows The Man From The Future, played by Sam Rockwell, as he travels back in time to recruit a specific combination of people who will help him save the world. The problem? He has absolutely no idea who comprises this team of destiny.
In the modern timeline, society has been overtaken by an all-powerful AI program that has rendered most of humanity obsolete through addictive virtual reality simulations. The Man’s goal is to install safety mechanisms into the AI as it is being created to alter its programming so it prioritizes human life.
During the opening monologue, The Man holds the diner he has traveled back in time to hostage as he picks his team from the selection of unwilling patrons. He explains that this is his 117th attempt at completing his mission and that his time-travel technology allows him to reset at the diner if he senses the current iteration of his assignment is doomed to fail.
Rockwell immediately demonstrates his control over The Man’s unconventional mannerisms — disgruntled, battle-hardened, yet unquestionably dedicated to the cause. His performance serves as a constant bright spot in the film, bringing an energy that serves as a much-needed baseline for when the film goes off the rails, which unfortunately is quite often.
The storyline is immediately littered with extensive flashbacks and sideplots. Nearly every character on The Man’s team is given over 10 minutes of backstory, which seems beneficial for character development but only serves to pull the viewer away from the main quest.
The supporting cast does its best to keep up with Rockwell’s tour de force. Among the most notable is Haley Lu Richardson as Ingrid, a girl with a technology allergy who gets bloody noses whenever she is around devices of any kind. There is also Juno Temple as Susan, a mother who loses her son to a school shooting. Both characters balance out Rockwell’s gruff yet chaotic demeanor well.
The issue lies in such eccentric backstories: The film does not meaningfully address its central theme, focused on the dangers of AI in our present society. Although attempting to be high-concept, “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” doesn’t go beyond a basic anti-AI framework. I was hoping it would present a more nuanced critique of the handling of AI. Instead, time is wasted on lackluster action sequences involving phone-addicted zombie-teenagers and a bizarre school shooting sideplot in which the parents clone their deceased children.
The film certainly has its funny moments — I found myself laughing out loud during a scene where two parents cloned their daughter for the fourth time — but with it being two hours and 14 minutes, I do wish more of the jokes landed.
Ultimately, “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” doesn’t take itself seriously enough to be what I would consider a consequential commentary on the dangers of AI. Despite the shallow depth with which it explores its themes and the barrage of flashbacks, the film’s high energy and Sam Rockwell’s stellar performance might just be enough to warrant a watch.
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