Sam Rockwell stars in ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
Opening in theaters on February 13 is ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’, a quirky new comedy sci-fi fable from director Gore Verbinski (‘Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl’), featuring Sam Rockwell as an unnamed man who bursts into a Los Angeles diner claiming to be from the future, and bringing a dire warning of impending dystopia.
“Time is running out. Are you ready to join the revolution?”
Release Date: Feb 13, 2026
Run Time: 2 hr 14 min
Budget: $20,000,000
The cast for the movie also includes Juno Temple (‘Atonement’), Haley Lu Richardson (‘Five Feet Apart’),Michael Peña (‘Ant-Man’), Zazie Beetz(‘Deadpool 2’) and Asim Chaudhry (‘Click & Collect’).
Related Article: Zazie Beetz, Michael Peña and More Talk ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’
Initial Thoughts
(L to R) Michael Peña, Sam Rockwell, and Zazie Beetz star in ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
Having not made a movie for nearly a decade, Gore Verbinski has certainly found the right project with which to burst back on the scene. You can’t exactly imagine that Sarah Connor would have responded quite so well had she been confronted by someone as manic and shady as Sam Rockwell’s Man from the Future in ‘The Terminator’, but the new comedy certainly channels some of that movie’s concerns about the future.
Rockwell brings his typically nervy energy to the role, but it’s not a one-man show.
Script and Direction
‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’ director Gore Verbinski. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
Written by ‘Love and Monsters’Matthew Robinson, ‘Good Luck’ harkens back to wild time-travel movies such as ‘Twelve Monkeys’ in particular, but has its own weird sensibility. While it doesn’t completely hold up towards the end –– several disparate storylines have to be knotted together, and it’s not always the cleanest fit –– the whole is happily more than the sum of its parts.
Verbinski, meanwhile, is clearly relishing the chance to cut loose once more, freed from studio restraints and letting a smaller budget be the mother of invention. There are various standout moments, and the movie is satisfying by the time the credits roll.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Asim Chaudhry, Juno Temple, Michael Peña, Sam Rockwell, Zazie Beetz and Haley Lu Richardson star in ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
Rockwell is the central figure here, driving the narrative and spilling exposition in a way that it remains interesting and (usually) easy to follow. He’s also a compelling, crazed and, as his full story is revealed, emotional figure.
The rest of the cast are more of a mixed bag in terms of how much they have to do, but Richardson and Temple in particular are great in this.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Juno Temple, Zazie Beetz, Michael Peña, Sam Rockwell, and Haley Lu Richardson star in ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
It might not hit every beat it takes aim at, but ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’ proudly finds its own groove, and once you’re on its wavelength, it’s hard not to have fun taking the wild ride.
‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’ receives 80 out of 100.
Sam Rockwell stars in ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
What is the plot of ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’?
A man (Sam Rockwell) from the future travels to the past and recruits the patrons of a Los Angeles diner he arrives in to help combat a rogue artificial intelligence.
Who is in the cast of ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’?
(Center) Sam Rockwell stars in ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
List of Gore Verbinski Movies:
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