Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2026) Movie Review

Say what you will about Gore Verbinski’s new hard-to-describe sci-fi comedy-thriller Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, but let’s at least agree he goes for broke. 

What feels like the class clown version of 12 Monkeys with a sprinkling of Everything, Everywhere All at Once, Verbinski’s latest is a quirky, humorous tale stacked with odd characters and strange developments. Fast-paced and increasingly ridiculous, it rides on the back of Sam Rockwell’s all-in performance. 

And yet, the comedic current that Carrie’s throughout Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die never finds its wavelength. The movie is amusing, for sure, but you can tell Verbinski, working from a screenplay by Matthew Robinson (Love and Monsters), is seeking an edginess that he never fully captures. To say the movie shortcircuits isn’t accurate—it maintains a steady flow—but it isn’t the electrifying experience you can tell it so clearly wants to be. 

It doesn’t amp up as it progresses, either. After two solidly entertaining acts, the third act, where things really go bonkers, proves to be the least satisfying section of the movie. Verbinski escalates the weirdness and the big ideas swirl (even literally), but the climax’s visual effects-heavy showdown offers sparks but no bang. 

The conclusion makes you pine for the earlier goings on, in which Rockwell’s near-crazed time traveler attempts to recruit lonely individuals from a diner, indicating that he’s been there, done that many times over. It’s in moments like these, and there several of them, that Verbinski thrives, dwelling in the little moments versus big show pieces. 

Though it never completely clicks, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die shouldn’t be overlooked for those looking for something that veers outside the mainstream—without going too wild or artsy. Rockwell is a treat, and the rest of the cast vibes accordingly. Verbinski may not have made a great movie, but his go-for-broke approach makes up for much of its shortcomings. 

Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.