Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die has one ace up its sleeve, in that if anyone’s going to come from the future to try and save the world, it’s Sam Rockwell (The Bad Guys 2), here as a nameless chap, who’s arrived because society has fallen apart, and he blames the current iteration of humanity.
Set in the near future, he’s come to this cafe in Los Angeles to recruit volunteers, although notes that he’s tried this 117 times already, and it’s failed every time since, so now’s the time to get it right!
He selects a rag-tag bunch, while denying anyone who volunteers but whom he knows have failed before – including an old man who barely makes it out the door, although once again, this is a film where no-one in the USA has a gun, since someone would’ve quickly shot Rockwell’s character, given how unhinged he looks.
Cue some Black Mirror-style backstories on several of the volunteers, including teachers Mark (Michael Peña – A Million Miles Away) and Janet (Zazie Beetz – Joker: Folie À Deux, as well as with Rockwell for The Bad Guys 2), whose kids in their charge have to react to a scare of a potential school shooting; single mum Susan (Juno Temple – Roofman), who has known major loss in life but now has some potential brighter news on the horizon, and young woman Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson – Split), who’s allergic to wifi and the modern era, while dressing like a princess for kids parties.
Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die‘s title makes you wonder if everyone will survive by the end of the night, but while the film gets a bit silly as it goes on – including throwing in some old tropes such as zombies at one point, it also runs way too long, because this is directed by Gore Verbinski who made the Pirates of the Caribbean movies run to almost THREE HOURS apiece!
And I feel that if he was allowed to make this run longer than 134 minutes, it would’ve done!
Still, while it’s worth a watch on the big screen, takes a comfy cush-cush to put your botty on, because you’ll be there for a while…
NOTE: There are no mid- nor post-credit scenes.
Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
However, you can buy the Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die 6-Books Collection out now.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 134 minutes
Release date: February 20th 2026
Studio: Briarcliff Entertainment
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (ARRIRAW (4.5K))
Rating: 6.5/10
Director: Gore Verbinski
Producers: Denise Chamian, Robert Kulzer, Oliver Obst, George Parra, Erwin Stoff
Screenplay: Matthew Robinson
Music: Geoff Zanelli
Cast:
The Man from the Future: Sam Rockwell
Susan: Juno Temple
Ingrid: Haley Lu Richardson
Mark: Michael Peña
Janet: Zazie Beetz
Scott: Asim Chaudhry
Tim: Tom Taylor
Marie: Georgia Goodman
Bob: Daniel Barnett
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.