What’s It About

Teens participate in a grueling high-stakes contest where they must continuously walk or be shot by a member of their military escort.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

The dystopian nightmare presented in Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” has a riveting new life in the form of Francis Lawrence. It put me in a different place than I expected. This is not your run-of-the-mill popcorn movie; this is a merciless examination of what happens when a society loses its very soul and turns human suffering into entertainment. The story takes place in a broken America, one that’s been crushed by war and economic collapse. In this twisted world, the government created something called the Long Walk – a sick competition where fifty young men from each state must walk at least three miles per hour until only one survives. Fall below that speed three times, and soldiers will shoot you dead. The winner receives incredible riches, along with any wish they desire. It sounds simple enough, but when it unfolds, it’s utterly devastating. Cooper Hoffman plays Ray Garraty, a young man from Maine, who voluntarily participates in this madness, even after his mom cried and pleaded for him not to. Hofmann provides Ray with a quiet strength that is a reminder of why he has been given his break. He is not trying to be his famous father – he is creating a space for himself as an actor. But as for the real star? David Jonsson as Peter McVries, Ray’s walking companion and eventual best friend. Jonsson is radiant, warm, and intelligent in his performance; whatever scene these two are in appears real yet heart-wrenching. What works in this movie is not the violence (and there is plenty), it’s Lawrence’s belief that King’s story works because of the connections based on friendship between these doomed young men. As they walk through empty towns and barren landscapes, they share stories, dreams, and fears; they are each other’s only support, knowing only one can survive. The friendship between Ray and Peter feels so real that you forget you’re watching actors – these feel like two people you’d want to know. The movie doesn’t shy away from the physical horror of what these boys endure. Bodies break down, minds crack under pressure, and death comes suddenly and without mercy. Some viewers might find this too intense, especially given the violence we see in real life every day. Lawrence presents it all without sugar-coating anything, forcing us to confront the cost of this brutal game. Mark Hamill appears as The Major, the military officer who runs this nightmare with cheerful cruelty. Hamill embraces the theatrical nature of the character, seemingly acting for an audience that does not exist. It can seem excessive at first, but you learn that this is exactly the point. When murder becomes sport, those who do it must act just as much as the victims. The supporting group is also a solid ensemble of boys; each character has his own personality and history. Charlie Plummer plays the bully and instinctively channels his inherent fear with aggression and anger. Ben Wang brings the humor in as the jokester of the group, who has a secret. Tut Nyuot shines as Arthur, a young man from Louisiana, who talks about growing up impoverished, but has a gentleness about him that conflicts with that background. These boys aren’t merely background characters who are waiting to die – they are real people, which is what made their ultimate demise that much harder to take. Lawrence, who directed most of the Hunger Games films, is a seasoned director of dystopian fairy tales about young people engaged in deadly competitions. But this feels different from those blockbusters. The Long Walk examines endurance in a similar vein to Hunger Games, addressing rebellion and fighting back. The Long Walk explores the endurance, but also explores what it means to endure when every inch taken seems hopeless. The Long Walk probes into the awful question of why people definitively choose to participate in their own destruction, and while there are answers, they are not satisfying answers. I do believe that the film functions as a serious critique of capitalism and how our society approaches poor people. These young men walk themselves to death chasing the promise of wealth that only one person can claim. It’s easy to see connections to how people destroy their bodies and minds chasing success in our own world. The metaphor isn’t subtle, but it doesn’t need to be when the reality it represents is so obvious around us. The film depicts the bleak hopelessness of this dying America visually, with gray skies and landscapes everywhere. All of the towns that they ride through appear abandoned, with people who watch from the periphery as the four boys march toward their deaths. People who don’t see them as human beings. Lawrence constructs a world that feels both futuristic and terrifyingly close to home. It could be our country in a few years- if we let it. The film changes quite a bit from King’s original story, notably the ending, which might frustrate fans of the book. However, these changes ultimately serve the film’s themes about friendship, sacrifice, and what it means to be human in a world that is devoid of humanity. The final scenes shift into something more dreamlike and symbolic, which might confuse some viewers but feels right for a story that was always more about ideas than realism. What stays with me most about The Long Walk is how it shows love and friendship surviving in the worst possible circumstances. Ray and Peter’s connection is the emotional core of the movie, and it is an amazing portrait of how connection and care can exist in humanity even when everything else has gone to ruin. Their discussions around life, death, and what matters most are refreshing and sincere, without being overly sentimental. This won’t be an easy film for everyone to watch. It is dark, bruising, violent, and raises difficult questions about the world we are constructing. Having said that, for the audiences willing to work hard to embrace difficult work, The Long Walk will stay with you after you leave the theatre. And in a moment where we ourselves feel so divided and cruel, it is important to be reminded that a person’s humanity is determined by the measure of humanity we show to each other, as the world is increasingly hopeless, but for Ray and Peter, it is love that carries them. As both an adaptation of King’s vision and for this moment, The Long Walk is a success. It feels like the kind of film that can shift the lens through which you view the world that surrounds you, and that feels incredibly important right now.

OUR RATING – A HAUNTING MIRROR 8

MEDIA

• Genre – Drama

• Street date

• Digital – October 21, 2025
• BluRay/DVD – ‎November 25, 2025

• Video – 1080p

• Screen size 2.39:1

• Sound – English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio descriptive

• Subtitles – English SDH, French, Spanish

Extras

• Alternate Ending – 4K Blu-ray SteelBook Exclusive
• Stephen King: An Appreciation – 4K Blu-ray SteelBook Exclusive
• Cooper & David Scene Read – 4K Blu-ray SteelBook Exclusive
• “Ever Onward: Making The Long Walk” Multi-Part Documentary
• Chapter 1: Walk or Die
• Chapter 2: Raring to Rip
• Chapter 3: Another Time/Another Place
• Chapter 4: Adjustments Are Key
• Chapter 5: Fulfillment
• Theatrical Trailers