The Long Walk: How Did We Get Here?

Lionsgate

Well, did everyone watch The Long Walk yet? Of course—it’s been out for a while now. I finally watched it too, and my hands finally got around to writing this review and sharing some thoughts.

It’s been said a million times that the book is better than the film adaptation. Examples to the contrary are few and far between. As I mentioned before, Stephen King’s original work made a distinctly positive impression on me years ago. And now, more than two decades later, I finally got my film adaptation. I didn’t even watch the entire trailer; I wanted to avoid spoilers. Even though I partly remembered the plot, I wanted the adaptation to be a bit of a surprise.

Let’s start with the thoughts that kept popping up while I watched

— How many miles did the actors actually walk during filming? If it turns out they were riding horses and faking the walk, I’d be surprised and feel a bit naive. But if they really were walking, considering the multiple takes… I truly respect that. Sometimes I struggle to make myself walk even 10,000 steps, probably because no one’s paying me for it.

— Is the human body really capable of walking that much? And can you truly walk that far in just socks? I feel like his feet would be worn down to his knees within the first couple of hours…

— You can’t help but notice the parallels to Squid Game. These kinds of Battle Royale concepts certainly have a certain popularity. When it looks like just a TV game, but the eliminated participants are also eliminated from life—just to make it more dramatic and raise the stakes…

The Impression When the Credits Rolled: Expectations Not Met

I could talk about this for a long time, but I don’t want to drag it out, so I’ll try to keep it brief. The dystopian world is technically there, but we know essentially nothing about it—the information is extremely scarce. At one point, you seem to start getting into the main characters’ backstories, but no, you don’t have enough time to do that over the course of the film. By the end, there’s no feeling of connection or sympathy. After several days on their feet, the characters don’t look exhausted enough. I just don’t believe you can look that good on the fifth day, without even bags under your eyes… And then again, there’s the predictability of the ending. While it does differ from the book (if memory serves me correctly—otherwise, I’ll turn out to be an old fool who was too lazy to fact-check before publishing, shame on me), you still expect something more impressive, some kind of twist, a unique flair…

But perhaps the issue lies solely with the book, which I read many years ago and which left a lasting impression at the time. When I put on the movie, I was expecting something similar. I didn’t get it. Aside from that… maybe it wasn’t so bad. For a one-time watch, it’s a decent film with an interesting premise. Now, all that’s left is to wait for The Running Man and hope I’m not disappointed again. November isn’t far away.