THE LONG WALK -- Up and Coming

Review by Adam Donato

Stephen King adaptations are a subgenre all to itself. There’s three such movies coming out this year alone. The Long Walk is about a society that forces young men into a competition where they have to walk at a certain pace for as long as they can and the last man standing wins untold riches. Leading this walk is Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson. Both young actors have made impressions in the last few years, but have yet to reach household name status. Francis Lawrence, known for his work on the Hunger Games franchise, returns to a similar vibe of post apocalyptic young adult action drama territory. With an R rating and a September release date, it will be interesting to see if this can get a good cut of the box office. Weapons is still holding strong, meanwhile a new Conjuring movie comes out the week before and a Peele/Wayans collab comes out the week after, so the horror market is filled with options. 

The Long Walk certainly has the quality to lure people into the box office. The subject matter does demand an R rating, but there’s a way to cut around the gore to make this movie PG-13 to try to squeeze out some extra bucks. The gore is so necessary here as the film goes from light banter among young men to tragic horror. This juxtaposition elevates both sides and is really the balance that this film thrives on. The concept of the film is trying to be grounded and taken seriously, but it’s ripe for nitpickers who don’t find this athletic feat achievable. Even if their lives are on the line and even after they explain how they do things like going to the bathroom. It feels like the movie would’ve benefited from a shorter runtime and it would’ve made the plot more realistic. It’s also very light on world building, but that may be for the best because the whole idea of this competition is ridiculous.

Hoffman and Jonsson are two of the best young actors working today. If you were not previously on board, now is a great opportunity. Hoffman in Licorice Pizza and Jonsson in Alien: Romulus are both performances that put these two on the map, but they’ve not reached household name status. It would be great for this movie to be a success because this film definitely keeps the ball rolling. They have wonderful chemistry together and are playing different types of characters than we’ve seen from them before. Their budding friendship is the lifeblood of the movie. 

The Long Walk feels destined to reach cult classic status. It’s very good, but the tone of the movie is too niche. It’s too gory for drama fans and too tame for horror fans. Not to mention it’s rated R so the teen demographic that this movie seems to appeal to will have to wait until streaming. Regardless, this was a wonderful opportunity for Hoffman and Jonsson to showcase their capabilities. The concept is a bit out there, but it’s got that Stephen King horror charm to it. Be sure to check this one out in theaters while it’s still there. 

The Long Walk is in theaters on September 12. 

Rating: 4/5