The Long Walk
August 26th, 2025
MOVIE: THE LONG WALK
STARRING: COOPER HOFFMAN, DAVID JONSSON, CHARLIE PLUMMER, BEN WANG, MARK HAMILL, JUDY GREER
DIRECTED BY: FRANCIS LAWRENCE
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 108 MINUTES
There’s a cold chill that permeates throughout The Long Walk. It could be the brisk wind cutting through the air—or the stench of death that hangs over everything. This adaptation of Stephen King’s novella captures both the strengths and the weaknesses of his storytelling, blending themes reminiscent of The Shawshank Redemption, The Mist, and The Life of Chuck.
The premise is deceptively simple: fifty young men, aged 18 and above, participate in a national tradition known as The Long Walk. They begin on an endless stretch of road, walking at a constant pace of 3 miles per hour, closely followed by an armed military patrol. The rules are simple: fall behind, and you’re warned. Accumulate too many warnings– or break the pace– and you’re shot. The last one left alive wins. With that comes the psychological and physical horrors of the journey: fear, trauma, and bloodshed.
The Long Walk is a bleak and haunting film, heartbreaking and, at times, strangely inspiring. Amid the inevitability of death, friendships are forged, even if fleeting, in this treacherous experience.
The story opens with a short prologue explaining the dystopian backdrop and the rules of the Walk. We first meet Raymond Garraty #47 (Cooper Hoffman), being dropped off by his mother (Judy Greer). He’s volunteered for this. No one understands why—not even him. Tears are shed, but the commitment stands. One by one, the principal competitors are introduced: Peter McVries #23 (David Jonsson), Gary Barkovitch #5 (Charlie Plummer), Hank Olson #46 (Ben Wang), and Arthur Baker (Tut Nyuot). They’re watched over by faceless soldiers and The Major (Mark Hamill, in a Full Metal Jacket mode performance). Once the walk begins, the momentum never stops. Morning, night, no sleep, little food. Soon…the dying begins.
Narratively, the film is minimalist: mostly walking and talking. But what screenwriter JT Mollner (Strange Darling) and director Francis Lawrence (of The Hunger Games fame) understand is that the power of the story lies not in scenery or spectacle, but in the characters. Their gradual unraveling, their deepening connections, and the inevitable toll of the journey resonate greatly.
The violence is unflinching. The camera never looks away as the men break down: sobbing, cramping, hallucinating, collapsing. Each death is shocking, but what makes them devastating is how deeply we come to care about each person. We know only one will survive, but we wish that weren’t true.
The film lives and dies with the performances of Hoffman and Jonsson. Their bond anchors the narrative, bringing to mind the friendship between Red and Andy in The Shawshank Redemption. And while the repetitiveness of the walk may test viewers’ patience (it tested mine), Lawrence wisely refuses to expand the world or add unnecessary subplots. Instead, he keeps the focus tight, the dialogue sharp, and the outcome unpredictable.
Is the ending perfect? Not by a long shot. It may take multiple viewings to fully appreciate its quiet ambiguity. But at its core, The Long Walk is a harrowing, thought-provoking meditation on masculinity, mortality, and the systems we blindly obey. Each walker brings his own perspective: some are defiant, some terrified, some altruistic, some coldly isolated. It’s a fictional dystopia, but one that suddenly feels disturbingly close to our own reality.
We’re all walking our own endless path. But unlike in this story, we still have a chance to step off, to choose something else. The Long Walk doesn’t just leave a trail of blood; it leaves a question mark hanging in the air of America. Is this the type of humanity we want to be? Lord, I hope not.
3 STARS
THE LONG WALK IS PLAYING IN THEATERS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH, 2025.
Written by: Leo Brady
