THE STORY – A group of teenage boys compete in an annual contest known as “The Long Walk,” where they must maintain a certain walking speed or get shot.
THE CAST – Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Jordan Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, Judy Greer & Mark Hamill
THE TEAM – Francis Lawrence (Director) & JT Mollner (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 108 Minutes
As the world continues to worsen, films about dystopian futures feel less effective at instilling fear. Maybe that’s why a filmmaker like Francis Lawrence, who previously worked on “I Am Legend” and the “Hunger Games” films, felt it was the right time to adapt Stephen King’s “The Long Walk.” King, a master of horror, here taps into a different kind of terror, one that feels far more tangible than spirits or killer clowns. To bring it to the screen, Lawrence teams up with JT Mollner, fresh off “Strange Darling.” Together, the two sharpen each other’s darker instincts and channel them into King’s vision, creating a harrowing thriller that occasionally pauses for moments of unexpected poignancy.
Mollner’s screenplay fully realizes King’s nightmarish America. Though fictional, its depiction of a post-war United States, crippled by economic collapse and authoritarian rule, feels alarmingly close to reality. Mark Hamill plays “The Major,” a ruthless figure who lures young men into participating in “The Long Walk,” a state-sanctioned spectacle disguised as unity. The rules are simple: walk until the last man is standing. Fall below three miles per hour, and you get a warning. Rack up three warnings, and you’re executed on the spot. Cooper Hoffman’s Raymond Garraty is among the unlucky chosen, facing both the brutality of the event and the slow unraveling of his own mind as the miles stretch on.
Where Mollner and Lawrence shine is in how they build the bond between the boys trapped in this death march. Garraty, Pete McVries (David Jonsson), and the others may all dream of different lives beyond poverty, but they share the same wounds of struggle and desperation. One might expect selfishness and betrayal, but instead, a fragile brotherhood emerges, an emotional core that elevates the story. Watching contestants collapse one by one hurts all the more because of this connection. The relationship between Garraty and McVries is especially compelling, carried by the remarkable chemistry between Hoffman and Jonsson. Even when the story heads toward an inevitable conclusion, their dynamic keeps the film gripping and heartfelt.
Hoffman continues to carve out an impressive career, following “Saturday Night” with another nuanced performance. His Garraty simmers with anger, regret, and misplaced hope, making his decision to walk both believable and heartbreaking. Judy Greer, as his mother, gets a few moving scenes, but it is Jonsson who truly elevates the film. His McVries is magnetic, mysterious yet deeply human, equal parts generous and commanding. His presence amplifies the themes of resilience and fleeting goodness in a bleak world. Meanwhile, Hamill’s Major works better as a symbol than as a fully fleshed antagonist. Hamill leans into his penchant for theatricality, sometimes veering toward cartoonish, though Hoffman’s grounded work balances it out when the two share scenes.
Lawrence’s direction is restrained, relying less on spectacle and more on atmosphere. The repetition of endless walking does weigh on the film, but moments of brutal violence punctuate the monotony, jolting both the audience and the participants. One standout sequence, a tense early-morning climb up a steep incline, delivers the kind of pulse-pounding intensity the film struggles to replicate later. Still, Mollner’s uncompromising writing ensures the edge never dulls completely.
Adapting King is always a gamble, but “The Long Walk” proves rewarding. Lawrence’s fondness for the material is clear, even as the project nudges him out of his usual comfort zone. The ending may feel as weary as the survivors of the walk itself, but the journey lingers. In the end, “The Long Walk” is a brutal yet strangely moving reminder that sometimes it is not about the destination at all, it is about the grueling path that gets us there.
