PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2026 REVIEW! In director Gore Verbinski’s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, written by Matthew Robinson, a “Man from the Future” (Sam Rockwell) crashes into a late-night Norms diner and declares to everyone that they are about to get steamrolled by a rogue artificial intelligence. This is not his first attempt, either, as he’s been looping back again and again, failing each time. The Man is well into the hundreds of attempts to succeed. He’s convinced that if he can get the right combination of “heroes” to join him, he will finally make it to the end and insert the rogue code from a thumb drive to stop the AI. Tonight, his recruits are the goth teen Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson), the teachers Mark (Michael Peña) and Janet (Zazie Beetz), the grieving mother Susan (Juno Temple), plus a few “red shirts.”
The first step is to get out of Norms without being arrested by the police, who arrive mid-chaos. This is the point at which the Man has failed the most, and each time, just before everything goes wrong, he presses a button on his space suit, which sends him back to the front door of Norms for a complete reset. Now, our crew is being chased by the police, masked thugs, and a zombie horde of teens. Is this the team that can get the job done? It’d be kind of a waste of a movie if they aren’t. Ah, we’ll see… in the meantime, we get a bit of backstory on our teen, Ingrid. She is allergic to cell phones and starts bleeding from the nose as a result. Mark is a teacher, and we learn that he may have started the entire zombie horde coming after them. Susan lost her son in a school shooting, and purchased a robot clone of her son to cope with her grief.
“…a ‘Man from the Future’ crashes into a late-night Norms diner and declares to the diners inside that they are about to get steamrolled by a rogue artificial intelligence.”
Look, I understand the timing of this statement, but Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die has to be the best movie of the year. Let’s be real. I can’t imagine Avengers: Doomsday being better than this. First, the cast is incredible. Sam Rockwell is Sam Rockwell; he’s loose and natural as if he’d been doing this hundreds of times. Richardson is the most underrated actress in Hollywood and absolutely nails Ingrid’s special purpose in the film (nuff said). Peña, Beetz, and Temple are the supporting characters who serve as small touchpoints for why the world is in this situation in the first place.
Which brings me to the script. Robinson has produced the quintessential science fiction script. Not only are we on this great adventure to battle AI — whatever form that comes in — but it also has something to say about humanity and our future. I’ll point to Susan’s story of a grieving mother wanting to bring her murdered son back to life. What transpires is every warning I’ve ever given about turning your loved one immortal. Sure, you could create an AI version of them, but should you? The unintended consequences are quite sad.
Then there’s the ending that I can’t say anything about. It’s perfect and better yet, with a little mental gymnastics, you’re going to get its point. Speaking of which, Verbinski is the perfect director. There are a lot of balls to juggle, meaning that with the slightest mistake, this film could have easily fallen apart. In case you didn’t know, this is an independent film. No major studio is funding this movie, and they will not see a dime of your hard-earned ticket. This is the future…we don’t need Hollywood.
At the risk of being hyperbolic, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a great movie. It offers ;aughs, thrills, and it’s a thinker; you will not be disappointed. Rockwell’s presence alone should be enough to sell it. I wish studio films put this much thought into storytelling and took as many risks with it; then maybe theaters wouldn’t be on the verge of extinction. Do yourself a favor and see this as soon as you can.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die screened at the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
"…this is the future...we don't need Hollywood."
