just got back from an early screening for The Long Walk, the newest film based on a Stephen King novel, and I was pretty excited to check this one out. Directed by Francis Lawrence, who also did I Am Legend, Constantine, and every Hunger Games film since Catching Fire, this movie stars Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Mark Hamill, and more. From the trailers, it looked unique and gripping, and my excitement only grew once I realized who was directing and that Hamill was playing the villain.
This story goes all the way back to King’s 1979 novel of the same name. Set in a dystopian United States under authoritarian rule, 50 teenage boys are forced into an annual walking contest. The rules are simple and brutal: maintain a minimum speed of 3 mph or face execution after three warnings. The contest continues until only one walker is alive, rewarded with wealth and the fulfillment of any wish.
I really enjoyed this film. It’s a well-acted and well-made movie that uses straightforward, stripped-down filmmaking to its advantage. In a world dominated by big, bloated CGI-heavy blockbusters, it was refreshing to see something this contained and character-focused. For most of the runtime, it’s literally a bunch of boys walking down a road, yet it stays engaging because of the performances, the character dynamics, and the themes baked into the story.
The standouts are Cooper Hoffman as Ray and David Jonsson as Peter. Their bond develops early on, and their relationship carries much of the emotional weight. Around them, the film introduces a variety of other boys: some sympathetic, some arrogant, some just there to be cannon fodder. As the contest goes on, characters die off—sometimes abruptly, sometimes shockingly—and while a few felt underdeveloped, Hoffman and Jonsson keep the story grounded. Hoffman plays Ray with such realism and heart, while Jonsson brings intensity and complexity that made him the true standout.
Mark Hamill is clearly having fun as the authoritarian Major overseeing the contest. It’s great to see him chewing the scenery again as a villain. His performance reminded me of shades of his Joker voice work, with that sinister gravitas, but here he embodies something colder: the blank, faceless brutality of authoritarianism. He represents obedience and control, and what happens when you fall out of line.
What elevates the movie are the themes. It explores survival, endurance, and the exploitation of youth. It critiques authoritarianism and the way systems demand obedience. It also looks at identity, morality, and how people face death—whether with fear, dignity, defiance, or resignation. The televised spectacle of the Walk drives home how society can turn suffering into entertainment, with spectators, including children, watching boys collapse and die as if it were just part of the show.
Francis Lawrence was the right choice for this story, since there are clear similarities to The Hunger Games. Both focus on young people forced into brutal contests for the entertainment of the masses, set in dystopian societies. But while The Hunger Games leaned more on spectacle, The Long Walk strips things down to raw endurance and conversation, forcing us to spend long stretches with the walkers as they reveal who they are and what keeps them moving forward.
I do have some gripes. The pacing sometimes drags, especially in the latter half, and a few characters are introduced only to disappear without payoff. The time jumps between mileage markers can make the progression feel a little uneven. Some characters deserved more screen time, while others with promising setups felt underdeveloped by the end. Still, the main duo holds it together.
As for the ending, it’s going to divide people. It’s ambiguous, fading to black at a crucial point. I personally liked what it was going for, even if I saw it coming. It left me chewing on it afterward, though I can see some viewers feeling unsatisfied or like it undercut parts of the journey.
Overall, The Long Walk is a solid, thought-provoking film. It’s not perfect, but it’s immersive, tense, and refreshingly different from the usual blockbuster fare. It delivers on strong performances, especially from Hoffman and Jonsson, while giving Mark Hamill a juicy villain role. It has a lot to say about life, death, survival, and society, and it does it in a stripped-down but effective way.
Rating: 8/10.