The Long Walk 2025 Movie Review
The Long Walk is exactly what it is: A movie about young male participants above 18 years old — fifty of them, to be exact — who are chosen by ballot to join the titular walking contest. The rules are simple: Once the contest commences, the participants have to start walking along the seemingly endless asphalt road. The winner is determined when there’s only one walker left in the contest, and he will be rewarded with lots of money.
But there’s a catch, and a deadly one at that, too: They must maintain a pace of three miles per hour or face execution. Warnings will be given, totalling three times, and if the walker can’t make it past them, the soldier shoots the person to death in the head, point-blank. There’s no rest, no toilet break, and no checkpoint of any kind. The story, adapted from Stephen King’s 1979 novel of the same name under the pseudonym Richard Bachman by Strange Darling‘s JT Mollner, is as bleak as it gets. But thankfully not to the extent it feels dour and lifeless.
Francis Lawrence, who is no stranger to dystopian movies seen in the Hunger Games franchise, maintains an assured pace throughout the movie, zeroing in on the gruelling long walk as we see the participants trying their best to keep up with the momentum. Among the participants is Raymond Garraty (Cooper Hoffman), who is determined to win the contest not only for the money but also for another reason, even though his mom (Judy Greer) is having second doubts about her son taking such a risk. As the walk starts, Garraty make friends with a few participants, notably Peter McVries (David Jonsson), along with Hank Olson (Ben Wang) and Arthur Baker (Tut Nyuot).
A movie like this wouldn’t be complete without a troublemaker or a bully, and here, we have Gary Barkovitch (Charlie Plummer), who likes to provoke his competitors. The Major (Mark Hamill), a no-nonsense high-ranking military officer, oversees the contest in person. He would give them motivations about soldiering on throughout the walk and talking about the lucrative prizes. The premise itself takes place in a dystopian future where America is under a totalitarian regime, and The Major represents an authority figure who shows no compassion other than making sure the participants either keep walking or die by a headshot.
With the exception of the flashbacks revolving around Garraty, which disrupt the otherwise consistent momentum of the movie, Lawrence sticks to the bare essentials of depicting the participants walking along the road. The walk begins with lots of confidence from them, but as days go by and they stretch more miles, the situation grows increasingly grim and violent. And to mirror the harsh premise, Lawrence’s camera remains stark when a participant can’t go on anymore, resulting in a bullet ricocheting through the head from the deafening shot of an assault rifle.
He doesn’t shy away from the matter-of-fact gore and gunshot wounds, and even when the shooting occurs off-screen or blurred by the foreground of the participants, the same visceral impact is retained throughout the movie. Interestingly, for a movie that focuses predominantly on the long walk, it can get tedious since there is so much amount of blood, violence, and gore that can sustain the audience’s interest.
But the movie does a great job escalating the stakes as the story progresses, making us wonder which participants will end up getting shot in the head. Not to mention immersing in the strong bond between Garraty and McVries as they support each other throughout the journey while learning about their backgrounds. The movie is heavy with dialogue as we see the participants spend time talking, debating, arguing or venting out their anger and frustration.
It may have been talky, but never once did I get bored watching the movie. It just stays with me, thanks to the overall solid characterisation that makes me care about these participants. All the actors bring an A-game in their respective roles, but it was Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson who stole most of the show here. Then, there’s Mark Hamill, playing against type as a despicable and remorseless character that he embodies The Major wholeheartedly.
