Hello everybody and welcome to a brand new review! For this one, I will be looking at a brand new adaptation of a Stephen King story, one that has been getting an immense amount of acclaim. The Long Walk is the first novel the King ever wrote, starting it during his freshman year of college, and has often been considered unfilmable, with there being numerous attempts to adapt it, but none ever coming to fruition until now. Francis Lawrence, most well known for helming The Hunger Games sequels comes onboard to helm this endeavor and I was very intrigued by this project when it was first announced as I think the concept is a corker and the cast was filled to the brim with some of the most promising young actors working today. I also am a fan of King’s way of telling stories and was excited to see how Lawrence would translate that here. Was this able to achieve quality? Let’s jump right in and see if this walk was one worth taking!
Taking place in an alternate version of 20th century America, where the country has undergone another civil war and is now under a totalitarian regime. Nearly 20 years after this war, an annual sporting event is started by the regime’s leader, known as The Major, entitled The Long Walk, that is meant to boost the work progress of the population. Here, 50 teenage boys are randomly chosen from each state and must walk for hundreds of miles with soldiers escorting them. If their speed falls below 3 miles per hour, they stop too long, or try to escape, they get executed right on the spot. This keeps on going till one remains and that one receives a large cash price as well as a wish of their choosing. We mainly follow one Raymond “Ray” Garraty, who is entering for personal reasons and he comes to make some new friends in the form of some of the other teenage boys he meets. However, they must face a challenge unlike any they have ever faced as they come to endure The Long Walk.
Given his background, Lawrence is no stranger to this kind of dystopian concept and is once again able to prove how much he knows how to handle this kind of story. He and screenwriter, JT Mollner, do not sugarcoat the harsh realities that are at play in this situation, crafting a very grim and more often than not, brutal watch that can be difficult at times to watch. There is much exploration of what it means to leave in an authoritarian landscape who view their people as little more than objects that would do whatever the horrors done just to achieve so called “progress”, all done through the point of view of the young participants who in reality don’t have much of a choice despite having the option of not participating. The sense of dread is excellently captured in the lead up to the first death occurring as the contestants get to know one another and treat this as normal competition, until they actually get far enough to realize just what they are in for. The world and situations are set up excellently with enough needed to convey urgency and suspense, but Mollner is smart to not just focus on the horrific angles at play.
We spend a lot of time getting to know our contestants, getting some wonderful moments of levity through their banter which can range from vulgar to witty to heartfelt, all of it being genuine. He’s able to find the humor that can be derived from this situation and there are multiple points where the jokes are meant to critique this status quo and why things are this way. There’s definitely a coming of age angle that shines through and adds another layer of humanity that I appreciated and it makes the scenes of violence sting even more. Also thought the violence never got too overboard to the point of being gratuitous as what is shown does the job in getting a strong reaction. There’s also the matter of the film ends as it is different from the book and while I can understand people preferring one over the other, I really liked how it comes together as it leaves things ambiguous enough and morally uncertain, while still having a weird sense of hope that I found quite satisfying. It also helps that much is done to make sure the proceedings never get repetitive and that there’s always something being done to showcase a new angle to the premise without ever getting tiring.
Also, impressive is just how much is able to be done with a relatively low $20 million budget. Considering the focused nature of the story, it makes sense that we would only get glimpses of what becomes of this world and I think the presentation of this rundown dystopia where much of the roads are abandoned with occasional glimpses of rundown society shown is very effective. All of the details thrown throughout the landscape from isolated cities, dead animals, and destroyed vehicles do the job in giving the impression of just how far the United States has fallen with the contrast between all of this and the serene landscape all the more stark. The camera work is also sublime and is what I think really makes scenes shine. Lawrence knows which shots to show in order to get across the immense exhaustion that our characters are facing, with simple shots of the road and feet just being enough to get into one’s skin. He uses medium shots very well in order to really present the brotherly love between the boys and add a sense of intimacy that makes their chemistry register even more. The close ups also add a lot in regards to tension and getting across the emotions that the characters are going for. Jeremiah Fraites’s score also adds a lot, giving the impression of this being a long and intense journey with moments of hard hitting emotion sprinkled throughout.
Selling the proceedings exceptionally is the ensemble cast at the center of it all and what’s impressive is just how well utilized they end up being. Cooper Hoffman gives in a terrific lead performance as Ray, showcasing a calm, level headed exterior, but is deep down as terrified as anyone could be in this situation. Hoffman plays both sides excellently and is very good at delivering the given line readings depending on the situation as he nails the crass and dark humor, but also gives real weight to his dramatic parts. I think Ray works a solid entryway into this world as we experience all of this from his perspective and as his true motivations are further revealed, I found him to become even more fully rounded and it ties into what the film is going for as far as exploring what is considered morally right or wrong in this world and whether what one wants will ever be truly satisfying. Stand out for me personally was David Jonsson, who is the co lead here as Ray’s newfound friend, Peter, a calm wise cracker who serves as Ray’s moral compass in a way, often leading him to better paths, whether it’s related to managing the walk or Ray’s thoughts. Jonsson just oozes so much charisma and just manages to be such a compelling screen presence. I went from laughing at his jokes in one scene to being just as emotionally devastated as him in another. The relationship between Ray and Peter is a riveting one as the chemistry is so well established as each interaction they have just had me glued to the screen whether it’s them getting to know each other or commenting on the harsh reality of their situation.
The rest of young stars involved also all do very strong work here. I’d say my favorite of the ones that aren’t the leads would have to be Tut Nuyuot as Art, whose mainly in this for the money, but is also open to getting to meet new friends along the way. He has a good hearted nature to him that makes him endearing and he has some of the funniest bits in the feature. Ben Wang (who was terrific as the lead in Karate Kid: Legends) also provides much amusing as the foul mouthed and sarcastic Hank, who ends up becoming a lot more sympathetic as the film goes on as Wang really sells some of the pain his character is going through in a way that felt too real. I also appreciated the depth given to more antagonistic characters such as Billy (Garrett Wareing) and Gary (Charlie Plummer). The former is shown to be a believer in the walk and has practiced years for it, but comes to realize the truth of it all, while the latter could’ve easily just been a standard bully character, but ends up being so much more as a very insecure individual who uses his “toughness” (AKA just beating down on others) to hide just how scared he is deep down, something that Plummer conveys perfectly.
The great thing about the movie is that no matter how major or minor the contestants are in the grand scheme of the plot, Lawrence and Mollner, make sure to make each one feel like a fully realized human and makes each death sting no matter who it is as in the end not one of them deserved this kind of fate, which makes everything all the more tragic. Also must shout out both Judy Greer and Mark Hamill who are dispersed throughout the film respectively as the biggest non contestant characters. Greer makes the most of limited screentime to deliver a heart breaking performance as Ray’s mother, Ginnie, showing the pain a mother would feel if her son was in this situation (one scene in particular involving him trying to hug her especially hits the gut). Hamill though is anything but sympathetic as The Major, who represents the iron fist that rules over everything, a scumbag who speaks highly of the contestants and their bravery, even though he doesn’t really think much of them as actual human beings. Hamill is a natural in this sort of role and it is often scary just how much he sees this as way to go in order to make things better and how he revels in seeing it unfold.
In the end, I found The Long Walk to be a fantastic Stephen King adaptation that knocked me out more than I expected it to. The main premise is explored in many interesting ways, it is effective in how it showcases its brutality, it explores relevant themes in a timely manner, it is surprisingly funny at times, it is impressively staged and shot, the performances are aces, and the characters are worth caring about. Not for the faint of heart and I can see people not love certain aspects about it. But for me, I found it to be such a compelling watch that had me hooked from beginning to end. If one just wants to watch a well done dystopian thriller and are a fan of the talent, then this will satisfy the criteria. Between this and the also phenomenal The Life of Chuck, this has been quite a year for Stephen King adaptations and they just show just how much his work has stood the test of time. Your move, The Running Man (2025)!
Rating: A+
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