The Long Walk

[Dicktar2023]

Overall, I thought this was gripping and very well-acted. There is a reason, though, that it's taken five decades for this to be adapted into a movie, and that's because it's just not a very cinematic story. Given the inherent problems with the underlying material--by it's nature, it's bleak and repetitive and tedious--I give director Francis Lawrence and writer JT Mollner a lot of credit for the fact that this at all watchable, let alone pretty good. I especially liked that this always felt like a movie and never seemed like a pitch for a streaming series. An easy way to spruce up this story would be to keep cutting away to flashbacks, or to give a lot of backstory and world-building, and to downplay the punishing grind at the heart of it all. But Mollner and Lawrence don't give us those breaks, and that creates a very intense atmosphere. Even when, yes, it's repetitive and tedious. King's novel (written in the late 60s) is easily read as a metaphor for Vietnam, and that comes across here. It's a lot of very boring grunt work, occasionally lit up with horrifying violence.

Unfortunately, that also means the movie is a giant bummer that doesn't really have much to say except authoritarianism sucks and empathy is good. A take that is either very trite or very timely. Maybe both.

Strong central performances from Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson.

[3dender]

Thanks for the review. I was blown away when I realized Cooper is the son of Phillip Seymour... you can see the resemblance.

As for the movie, this was one of my favorite stories as a teenager, I basically read everything King ever wrote through the 90s and this was one of the top 3 most memorable stories with its unrelenting bleakness and inexorable tragedy. For the observations you made I don't feel an urgent need to see the adaptation... probably wait til streaming.

[todd-parker]

Concur that the performances carry this film as the plot of the movie is severely constrained by the story it is trying to tell. The "action" comes in bursts throughout the 2+ hour runtime with conversations between the participants filling the down time. Not a rush-to-the-theater-to-see movie, but definitely catch it on streaming.

Two thoughts kept popping up while watching this movie:

Spoiler

1 - How different would this movie be if the participants were actively trying to sabotage each other instead of the cooperation that existed in this version.

and

Spoiler

2 - Could a human really walk at a 3 mph clip for 5 days straight without stopping for sleep?

[otcboy]

Spoiler

2 - Could a human really walk at a 3 mph clip for 5 days straight without stopping for sleep?

This was an hour short of five days at a greater than 4mph clip.

Men's Record
Record Holder: Phil Gore
Laps: 119
Distance: 495.87 miles (798 km)
Event: Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra
Date: June 2025

[todd-parker]

Spoiler

2 - Could a human really walk at a 3 mph clip for 5 days straight without stopping for sleep?

This was an hour short of five days at a greater than 4mph clip.

Men's Record
Record Holder: Phil Gore
Laps: 119
Distance: 495.87 miles (798 km)
Event: Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra
Date: June 2025

Looking at the rules of this race, competitors have to complete a 4+ mile loop every hour until they can't continue. Technically, they could stop/rest/nap if they finish the loop before the hour ends. Still, though, walking 500 miles in 5 days is an impressive feat. I wonder how much longer he could have gone with a gun to his head?

[seattleblue]

I read this story for the first time in May 1995 after walking across Maine and New Hampshire in April. Partner just re-read every single Stephen King book/story she wants us to see this in the theater. Now I had a 40lb pack on but 4mph is difficult to maintain even in peak fitness