Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die

Director: Gore Verbinski

What seems like a normal evening for the patrons in an L.A. diner, is anything but, when a stranger (Sam Rockwell) dressed in, seemingly, a plastic mac with random items glued to it, storms in claiming to be from the future. Not only the future, but a dark future which is leading to the destruction of humanity. But there is a group of people in this diner who are the secret to changing the future and saving mankind. In this, his 117th attempt, will he pick the right mix of people to save humanity, or will his latest mission be doomed again.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is quite the mix, a sci-fi-comedy-horror that borrows from Groundhog Day to Ghostbusters. It comes with plenty of action set pieces and  works for most of its 134 minutes, before it runs out of steam towards the end.

In its first two thirds it’s full of intrigue, funny, and shifts along as you try to understand where it’s heading and why its quirky set of characters are chosen. The film delivers some reflections on society touching on school shootings, social media, AI, the risk to the fabric of society, as well as comments on the selling of alternative realities and mobile phone obsession. None particularly subtly, although its take on  school shootings is very well done.

Performances are good. With Sam Rockwell, perfectly cast as the mysterious time traveller, with a mission which may or may not be real. Others offer some strong support, especially Haley Lu Richardson, Juno Temple, Michael Peña and Zazie Beetz, who provide the most intriguing back stories.

But the film, as it goes on, feels like it loses its way, with an urge to throw in one more set piece, one more twist, before it throws everything it has left, onto the screen in its wild finale.

The film looks good and it’s fun nods to other films and genres are enjoyable.

While it outstays its welcome a little and is a tad overcooked at the end, overall it’s an enjoyable and fun ride.