GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON’T DIE
***
Directed by Gore Verbinski.
Starring Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, Juno Temple.
Science-Fiction, US, 134 Minutes, Certificate 15
Released in Cinemas in the UK on 20th February by Entertainment Film Distributors
Put down your phone and pay attention. Gore Verbinski is back in the directors chair for the first time in a decade, bursting onto the screen once more in his typical overstuffed fashion, but this time with something to say. The hot button topic of AI comes under scrutiny here but there is a paradoxical sense that such subject matter, although worryingly relevant in the here and now of the real world, is a bit old hat when it comes to cinema. Throwing time travel into the mix only adds to the sense of familiarity with leading man Sam Rockwell’s choice of wardrobe immediately bringing Bruce Willis’ time hopper from 12 MONKEYS to mind. While watching this one hundred and thirty four minute extravaganza you will also no doubt be reminded of THE MATRIX, THE TERMINATOR films (the good ones that is) and even TOY STORY at one point, among many others.
Verbinski launches into this madcap tale with zero set-up, having a haggard and manic Sam Rockwell hurtling into a diner, with all manner of wires sticking out of his transparent plastic raincoat, claiming to come from a hellish future brought upon humanity by itself and its reliance and addiction to phones, social media and AI slop. With over fifty percent of humanity seemingly wiped out by Artificial Super Intelligence, Rockwell’s unnamed time traveller is searching for the perfect combination of people from this particular diner, a task he claims to have attempted over one hundred times before, to help him snuff this dark future out before it gains sentience that very night. With the help of a mismatched group, including Michael Péna and Zazie Beetz’s high school teachers on the verge of a break-up, Juno Temple’s grief stricken mother and Haley Lu Richardson in a dishevelled princess costume and an allergy to wi-fi, Rockwell attempts to undertake his seemingly futile task one more time.
While the sense of familiarity may be distancing, the script from Matthew Robinson, manages to throw a few interesting wrinkles into the mix. The backwards and forwards structure of the film, revealing the back stories of the disparate group, manages to entertain by delving into such issues of phone and online addiction and giving them an even more sinister edge. This satirical angle is deepened even further with the depressingly familiar spectre of high school shootings brought up in Juno Temple’s character’s backstory with the miracle of cloning bringing back her deceased son for a price, with an even more expensive ad-free option. These threads, and more, are brought together in a satisfying and entertaining fashion that helps the film zip along, aided in no small part by its ensemble cast led by Rockwell’s nicely judged and always amusing character work.
There is a lot going on throughout and by the time of the film's final act, even more is thrown on the screen. The cinematic equivalent of putting a hat on a hat on yet another hat, it is hard not to feel a little short changed by the film's conclusion, despite all the sound and fury whipping around the screen. While not entirely successful in its attempt to revitalise well known sci-fi tropes with its topical, and often surreal, asides, the film still manages to entertain throughout. Even at its most derivative it will still manage to keep you distracted from your phone at least.
Iain MacLeod