‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die!’ Review – Sam Rockwell Brings Humor & Humanity To Sharp Sci-Fi Satire [Fantastic Fest 2025]

Gore Verbinski’s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die feels like a chaotic late-night thought experiment brought to life, and one that’s as funny as it is relevant. The film begins in the most ordinary of places: a Los Angeles diner, where a group of strangers are quietly eating and bickering before a man wrapped in a translucent plastic trench coat (Sam Rockwell) bursts through the door and declares, “I’m from the future.” From there, Verbinski hurls us into a bizarre, fast-paced odyssey that merges time travel absurdity with a commentary on America’s deep-rooted cultural issues from our dependence on escapism to our desensitization to tragedy.

Verbinski, known for blending spectacle with satire, brings his signature mix of genre chaos and visual creativity. But here, his world feels more stripped down. The entire premise, which follows a man from the future recruiting diner patrons to save humanity from AI, sounds like a joke, but Matthew Robinson’s screenplay smartly uses that absurdity to expose uncomfortable truths. Rockwell’s “Man from the Future” isn’t just warning about machines taking over; he’s holding up a mirror to a society that’s already surrendered much of its humanity in exchange for comfort and distraction. It’s both a warning on our current climate as well as what our future will entail if regulations aren’t put in place.

There’s a sharp anti-AI stance throughout, not in a “robots are bad” kind of way, but as a critique of our willingness to offload responsibility and emotion onto technology. The film imagines a future where people are constantly tethered to their screens (more than we already are) and where parents can clone their children after school shootings. It’s a disturbing yet effective metaphor for how numb society has become to tragedy. In one of the film’s most shocking scenes, Juno Temple’s Susan learns her son has been killed in such an event. When she arrives at the police station, she finds other mothers calmly chatting about it as if it’s just another ordinary day. They casually explain there’s a cloning company they all use, treating replacement like routine. The moment hits like a gut punch, not because it’s overtly tragic, but because it’s presented as just another day in this world’s quiet horror.

What makes Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die so effective is that beneath its humor lies a growing unease. Verbinski doesn’t just point at societal decay and say “look how bad it is”, he laughs at it, then dares us to laugh too, until it stops being funny. The diner setting becomes a microcosm of America itself: a melting pot of personalities glued together by fear, denial, and the desperate need to feel something real.

While the narrative delivers plenty of clever ideas and sharp commentary, it occasionally bites off more than it can chew. The film feels a tad overambitious, juggling time travel, satire, and social critique all at once. Verbinski’s vision is bold, but at times the story spreads itself thin, leaving certain characters not as realized as others.

With such a strong ensemble, it’s noticeable when some are given far more depth than others. We get a clear understanding of Juno Temple’s Susan, her grief and numbness, and Haley Lu Richardson’s Ingrid, who has a very specific allergy that becomes the emotional center of the story. But Zazie Beetz’s Janet, despite her talent, feels underwritten, as if her arc was left on the cutting room floor. 

Sam Rockwell, however, more than makes up for those gaps. He does a lot of heavy lifting as the “Man from the Future,” bringing his trademark blend of manic energy and charm. He’s so great to watch and strikes the perfect balance of absurdity and seriousness in every line delivery, and he grounds the film’s wild premise in something that still feels oddly human.

Still, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a strange, satirical ride; it’s part sci-fi comedy and part societal eulogy. It’s funny, disturbing, and deeply relevant, capturing the absurdity of our times with a smirk and a sigh. Verbinski hasn’t made a film this sharp in years, and Rockwell reminds us why he’s one of the best at juggling comedy and despair in a single breath.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die had its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2025. The film will debut in theaters on January 30, 2026, courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment. 

Director: Gore Verbinski

Writer: Matthew Robinson

Rated: NR

Runtime: 100m