The Long Walk is no walk in the park
The Average Dude has been a longtime fan of the writings of Stephen King. I try to keep up and for a time, could say that I had read everything he had written. Adulthood overtook me at some point around Blockade Billy and now SK has left me in the dust. Still, I read him when I can. So when I saw The Long Walk (written under the pen name Richard Backman) was coming out as a movie, I was in 100.
Why is the future always dystopian?
The Long Walk is set in a super bleak dystopian future. Not a lot is said about why it was so bleak other than a cratered economy and a clearly militarized government. That’s fine. The why of the bleakness isn’t germaine to the story. No, this story is about one young man – Ray Garraty – who has submitted his name to the lottery to enter into the Long Walk competition.
The competition is as simple as it gets. Start walking. Last one walking wins a fortune in cash, in fame and social status. AND…they get a wish granted. For anything. Want to go to the moon? Bon Voyage. Women? Sure. A room in the White House? What time do you want your wake-up call, sir. You get the idea.
There’s a Down Side
There is a catch, though. The losers don’t get a pat on the back and a ‘better luck next time’. No, they all get a .223 calibur participation trophy, callously called ‘getting their ticket punched’. Literally, it’s an all or nothing proposition. Yikes. How desperate must the times be to roll the dice on participating in a ‘competition’ where the odds are 49 to one (because apparently, there are still 50 states in this alternate future) that you will get deleted from life?
And here’s where it really gets tough
Just two days before this movie premiered at our local moviehaus was the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk. Like millions around the world, the Average Dude was devastated. Still am, in fact. And even though I had a sense of foreboding about going, go I went. To her absolute credit, Mrs Average Dude begged off on this one. I should have trusted her instincts. Watching The Long Walk – with all the innocents gunned down soullessly….it was just way too soon. This movie hits hard, for all the wrong reasons. And it’s making this review really, really hard to do.
I’m doing my best, okay?
Trying to set aside the murder of Charlie Kirk and giving an honest, untainted review of The Long Walk is not easy. In fact, it’s darn near Herculean. It takes careful examination of each sentence for objectivity. Not promising anything other than to give it my best shot.
The Year of the Bachman
The Long Walk was adapted from a story that SK wrote under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. Other notable movies written by King as Backman are Thinner and The Running Man, which got a long overdue remake that’s true to the story, unlike the Arnold Shvartzinvader* version of 1987 (which I didn’t hate, not gonna lie). Looking forward to that one, too!
Without giving anything away…
So, you know the basic premise of The Long Walk. Keep walking or else. If I’m summing it up, it’s like a cross between Hunger Games and Stand By Me (of course, it is). There’s a lot of really in your face, execution-style bloodshed. The directors really didn’t try all that hard to soften the blow. So, if you like that sort of thing, there you go and I’ll pray for you. I could have done without it and it speaks of a real desensitization problem in this world (Rats… it feels impossible to separate the current state of affairs and my reaction to this movie. Not gonna edit that last one out because it deserves consideration).
I have questions
For those who never read the original SK work (which I’m guessing is most of you), screenwriter J.T. Mollner made some changes that raise questions. First: he race-swapped almost all of the primary characters. I had to check to make sure, but it’s true. Pete McVries and Art Baker were both changed from white to black. Hank Olson was white, not Asian. Collie Paker was not Indiginous American. Did Mollner do this to be more ‘inclusive’? A case can be made.
Next: There’s the fact that the ending was changed from REDACTED to REDACTED. There’s some chatter from AI that says it was to provide a surprise to those of us who read the books. Ahhh, I’m not buying that. The scenes of the movie were really faithful to the source material. Why make the change at the finish line? I believe it was because REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED.
I brought mine
And, while not race-swapped, the character of Stebbins was REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED. There doesn’t appear to be any logical reason for that alteration, other than to REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED. Total transparency, I’m open to discuss the very real possibility that I’m imagining things. But you gotta bring receipts.
Finally, it’s no secret that SK is of one political opinion. He’s very vocal about it. It is not a stretch to think that he would be on board with slanting The Long Walk in support of those opinions. Add to that, casting Mark Hamill (also with well-publicized political leanings) as the Major (the figurehead of a militaristic government that sponsors the sadistic competition) seems a liittle too on the nose. The weight of evidence really only points one way.
Comrades in Arms
Even after all of that, there’s still a good part of this movie that I enjoyed. The whirlwind comraderie between Ray Garraty, McVries, Olsen and Baker was endearing and worth the watch, in my opinion. The fear and desperation when the reality of the situation finally sets in could have been portrayed better, at least as well as the visceral lethality. That might have been REDACTED.
So, with as much honesty as I can muster under some very disturbing real-world parallels, I’m still giving The Long Walk a 3.1 out of 5. Even though I’m saying it’s watchable, I’m also saying ‘Don’t go watch it’. At least, not yet. Save it for a time when tempers and emotions are not as raw as they are now. Like maybe in a year or two. Or maybe never. It’s hard to predict what the future brings.
And apologies for all the REDACTS this week. For folks who will disregard my warning and see it now, we can discuss. For those that have not seen it, I spoil nothing. This is the way.
Check out all the Average Dude Movie Reviews and our super cool merch at www.barredlands.com
Follow us on X
Follow and Like us on Facebook
#barredlandsdotcom #AverageDudeMovieReviews #PCLoadletter64 #TheLongWalk #StephenKing #CharlieKirk