In a dystopian America, a group of teenage boys must keep walking until only one of them is left.
Great concept and execution, despite certain unrealistic flaws. Writer JT Mollner, the man behind the script of one of the best films of 2024 (even though made in 2023), Strange Darling (2023): https://kaygazpro.com/strange-darling-2023/, adapts Stephen King’s story, and his script is tight and engaging – but also exaggerating (we’ll get there). Director Francis Lawrence, the man behind the “The Hunger Games” franchise, returns to his element, portraying a dystopian America where teenagers must once again “save” the country by doing something extraordinary. This time, it is a lot less flamboyant and puts “heroism” into a different perspective.
The heroes are not heroes, and the masses cannot be saved by watching young men dying for no apparent reason. The fact that they have to do their biological needs in front of everyone speaks volumes. What they do is not motivating and can’t bring any change whatsoever. It’s an idle effort of a fascist regime to keep people occupied with a “reality” that only brings pain, misery and despair. And that’s just one aspect of the film’s drama. The second significant aspect is that those young men attempt to befriend one another and encourage and support each other, knowing that “at the end, there can be only one.” So, all this death for nothing.
King, Mollner and Lawrence do not reveal the year this takes place or what happened that caused the country’s desolation (some kind of war). The Running Man (1987/2025), The Hunger Games (2013-Present), The Purge (2013-2021), and Battle Royale (2000) are all examples of dystopian eras where people find entertainment/catharsis in disturbing games/procedures, an attempt to achieve something that will never happen. They are not solutions, but rather extensions of the decadence they undergo.
While the film is solid, the young men’s “achievement” is an exaggeration. There is very little to no chance for people to achieve walking for so many days constantly, especially if they have soiled themselves. Regardless, you can turn a blind eye to that and enjoy the thrill and drama that King, Mollner and Lawrence offer.
All actors do a fantastic job in front of the camera and deserve a massive round of applause. The one that, for me, stole the show, though, and brought tears to my eyes, is Judy Greer. Her role as a suffering mother is heartbreaking and encompasses the film’s underlying message about parents seeing their kids marching to their deaths. Absolutely devastating! And Greer should be nominated for an Oscar!
Thanks for reading!
Please, don’t forget to share. If you enjoy my work and dedication to films, please feel free to support me on https://www.patreon.com/kaygazpro. Any contribution is much appreciated and valued.
Solidarity for all the innocent lives that suffer the atrocities of war!
Stay safe!
