As doomscrolling, algorithmic outrage and digital burnout have come to define modern life, it was only a matter of time before Gore Verbinski, a filmmaker drawn to stories with a sharp social edge, turned his gaze to the human cost of technology and AI. The result, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, is a wildly absurd yet disturbingly familiar sci-fi comedy thriller, one that laughs relentlessly while holding a mirror uncomfortably close to the world we all recognise.
The film delivers an alarmingly disarming vision of humanity scrolling toward extinction, channeling the consumerist delirium of They Live, the zombie capitalism of Dawn of the Dead, and the techno fatalism of Terminator 2, all rewired for the Dopamine Stream Generation and cranked to gloriously unhinged algorithmic overdrive.
Sam Rockwell (in an Oscar-worthy performance) plays a man who claims to come from the future, taking the patrons of a Los Angeles diner hostage in a desperate bid to recruit humanity’s last attentive survivors. Having attempted this countless times before, each effort failing to find allies in a world numbed by glowing screens that have rendered empathy all but a relic, his repeated failures at persuasion give way to coercion, and the film from that point spirals into a series of unpredictable, mind-bending sequences best experienced without foreknowledge.
Verbinski revels in the absurdity of the premise, yet the AI-fuelled catastrophes, however terrifying they may be in reality, are delivered with hilarious, chaotic flair. The humour is inseparable from the critique: we laugh precisely because the situations echo realities we all recognise, making the film both a wake-up call and an unrestrained joy — comedy as coping mechanism, satire as survival instinct. The special effects are equally brilliant and monstrously imaginative, and need to be experienced on the big screen to be fully appreciated. Rest assured, the trailers barely scratch the surface of the kind of bonkers, mind-blowing visual spectacle Verbinski has created.
Rockwell’s performance is extraordinary, anchored by some of the most compelling monologues put to film, each propelled by kinetic, whip-smart camerawork that really amplifies their intensity. The supporting cast is equally impressive. Michael Peña and Zazie Beetz, portraying school teachers, deliver comedy gold while offering a razor sharp commentary on the state of education and the younger generation as a whole. Peña’s admission, “I don’t like people,” met with Beetz’s weary retort, “I know, but they’re barely people,” lands as both a punchline and a gut punch.
Fans of narrative intricacy, reminiscent of Weapons, will appreciate the film’s shifting perspectives and timelines. Time travel plots often collapse under their own ambition, but here, Verbinski carefully balances setup and payoff, repeatedly surprising the audience while grounding the chaos in recognisable social commentary.
On a more hopeful note, beneath the satire and laughter there is a glimmer of optimism: Rockwell’s character suggests that humanity, if guided correctly, can still be steered back on course. The film posits that a “hard reset” is possible, not just as critique, but as a genuinely hopeful message about human adaptability and the potential for change.
In the end, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die works so well by delivering its warning with a cheeky, self-aware grin. Its humour lowers our defences, its spectacle keeps us hooked, and before we realise it, the film has smuggled some genuinely sobering truths into its constant rush of jokes.
It’s laugh-out-loud funny, relentlessly frantic, and far more perceptive than it first lets on, tackling digital apathy and cultural exhaustion with playful clarity rather than a wagging finger. By framing its ideas as an invitation rather than a rebuke, Verbinski turns this satirical piece into a collective wake-up call – one that has you laughing along while kicking yourself for laughing at such uncomfortable truths.
VERDICT:
Briarcliff Entertainment releases Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die exclusively In Theaters February 13, 2026
