Movie: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Juno Temple, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña
Review by: Kirk Dulin
Review Type: SPOILER FREE

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THE CHALLENGE OF TIME TRAVEL MOVIES

Writing a new time travel movie requires a very particular set of skills because so many have been written. In order to write one, you have to know the “gimmicks” of the other famous ones AND you have to have a unique twist planned with yours. 

Writer Matthew Robinson (The Invention of Lying, Love and Monsters) manages to quickly capture audiences in the opening scene (spotlighted in the trailer), with Sam Rockwell announcing to a random diner that he is from the future. His mission? To interrupt their dinner and bring them back to the future with him to stop a terrible AI threat that has destroyed the society as they know it. The strength of this time caper is its unexpectedly sharp humor – and its even more surprising dramatic beats.

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GOOD LUCK

Over the years, Sam Rockwell has somehow garnered a binary Nickelback-esque reputation; if you’ve fallen victim to this love him or hate him relationship with his acting, proceed with caution. For this movie critic, I have always been a fan, and I implore those drinking the haterade to reconsider. 

Specifically in this performance, audiences will certainly be entertained by the scripts one-liners that definitely deliver with Rockwell at the helm. His relationships between each of the diner kidnapees all read as very natural, including an instantly magnetic connection with the under appreciated Haley Lu Richardson (Columbus, The White Lotus). 

Familiar – and well-known – actors fill in the rest of the ensemble with the likes of Juno Temple, Michael Peña, and Zazie Beetz. Thankfully, those three always deliver! 

If a movie script is ever lacking, it is up to the actors to punch it up with their unique skills and interpretations of their assigned character. Thankfully, the first 2/3rds of GLHFDD are strong enough to properly carry the narrative. We definitely need this cast for the final act though.

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HAVE FUN

I’m a HARSH critic on comedies. There are likely more attempts at comedic movies than dramas (don’t fact check me), but what people don’t understand is how difficult it actually is to make people laugh. While this movie is not a full comedy, it definitely crosses into that territory, seamlessly catching the audience off guard in mostly all the right places.

My family and friends will be excited that my next recommendation is something as FUN as this, rather than my usual drama. So if you’re looking for your next date night movie, this is sure to check all of the right boxes!

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DON’T DIE  

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a seriously fantastic title, and they lean into it HARD in the script, characters, and even sound design. Quickly after the movie begins, you can almost see yourself in that diner, hoping you’ll be recruited by the seemingly demented man who promises you will be taken to the future to save the world. 

The sets are large and convincing, the plot progression has strong momentum, but the ending…is an ending I wish I could’ve consulted on. Most fans will have fun with it. With a script as smart as it was, I yearned for a smarter ending. What we receive is fine, and serves the characters. I just wanted a deeper twist, using time travel tricks to blow my mind.

Despite my very specific preferences, this movie still deserves to be on the physical media shelf one day, and I hope it makes it to yours too!

Score: 6.2/10 kernels 
Review By: Kirk Dulin

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GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON’T DIE opens in theatres Friday, February 13, 2026.