The Long Walk (2025) Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAtUHeMQ1F8

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

What a lot of younger people don’t know about the author Stephen King is that the first novel he ever wrote was The Long Walk during his college years, but did not publish it until five years after his first official publication, Carrie; He also published it under the Richard Bachman alias. Knowing that it would be the oldest of stories he ever wrote chronologically, it’s a big surprise that it took so long for it to get an adaptation. In my opinion, the wait was worth it. 


PLOT


The 2025 film takes place in a dystopia where the United States has become a totalitarian military regime following a civil war and the titular broadcasted annual event is meant to inspire patriotism and work ethic in order for the country to recover from economic depression. The rules are that 50 teenage boys, one of each state, are randomly chosen to walk hundreds of miles while escorted by soldiers until there is only one left standing. Participants are offered rations & water throughout, but no breaks are allowed nor is anyone is allowed to fall below 3 miles per hour. If either happens three straight times in a two minutes, they will be eliminated via execution. The winner of the Long Walk will receive a cash prize and one wish to be fulfilled. Raymond Garraty from Maine is dropped off to the starting line by his mother Dolores who wishes him to back out, but knows he missed the deadline to do so. Before the competition begins does he receive the dog tag of No. 47, get to know some of the other participants to name a few: No. 23 Peter McVries from New Jersey, No. 38 Billy Stebbins from Missouri, No. 6 Arthur Baker from Louisiana, No. 48 Collie Parker from Illinois, No. 5 Gary Barkovitch from Washington DC, No. 46 Hank Olson & No. 49 Richard Harkness. The walk is overseen by a mysterious military official simply known as the Major who goes over the rules before they start. The stakes are proven to be serious when the youngest of participants, No. 7 Thomas Curley, gets eliminated due to succumbing to a muscle cramp. As Ray bonds with Pete, Gary gets shunned when he provokes another walker, No. 19 Rank Sanders, which gets him killed. As more participants don’t last too long with days progressing, Pete & Ray share their intentions should either of them win; Pete wants a wish that can change the world while Ray wants to kill the Major for murdering his father William (Josh Hamilton) over political opposition. Harkness ends up getting killed next when a steep hill causes his ankle to get injured. Hank would even become so delirious to the point of attacking a soldier, getting himself shot and bleed out from his wounds. When the remaining boys bring up he was actually married, they agree that the last one standing should give some of the prize money to his widow. Feeling guilty of getting Rank killed, he has a mental breakdown and chooses to take his life by stabbing himself with a spoon. As the remaining boys reach Freeport, Ray sees his mom and apologizes for putting himself in this predicament when he could’ve backed out sooner, but she encourages him to keep walking out of fear of losing him and Pete keeps him from using up his strikes. Collie would then go out defiantly by stealing a rifle and shooting a soldier before shooting himself. Art would then suffer from internal hemorrhage and would thank Pete & Ray for being his friends before collapsing. With Stebbins becoming ill as well, he admits to the remaining two that he’s been knowledgeable of the competition throughout because he’s one of the Major’s illegitimate sons, hoping to get his wish granted of being taken into his home. He tells them it was an honor to walk with them before voluntarily stopping. After walking 331 miles in five straight days, Pete & Ray would be surrounded by a crowd excited to see who will win. The latter encourages the former to keep walking, only to be the one to stop instead, allowing Major to finish him. Pete would be the official winner and would ultimately wish for a carbine, fulfilling his friend’s wish to kill the Major and the film ends with him continuing to walk after doing so.


THOUGHTS


I can go on and on by saying it’s amazing how a simple premise is so effective, but there is way more to say than that. Due to how this novel and The Running Man were both published before Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series, you can say this was pregame because you can totally see a source of inspiration which is not a bad thing at all, but you do see the irony that the former was also directed by Francis Lawrence who has helmed the latter. With such a similarity that teenagers are the victims of government propaganda, the stakes are high and every second that passes through Jo Willems’ cinematography & Mark Yoshikawa’s editing, the hostility feels endless. The same feeling occurs when listening to Jeremiah Fiotes’ compelling score. With all those elements put together, you do have a better grasp of JT Mollner’s script saying that even though it can be hard to get through oppressive times, true survival is always gonna come from the empathy you build with human connection. Whether it is someone you’ve known your whole life or someone you’ve for a short period, that is what makes great resilience. ‘Took a Walk’ by Shaboozey & Stephen Wilson Jr is a great song for reflecting that feeling of hope every participant is walking for whatever intentions they had with their wishes and it just makes you cherish you get to exist with great people you meet along the way. Even though 49 of these kids are not all gonna make it together, but you’re rooting for all 50 of them anyway because you know they don’t belong there at all and the ensemble that you follow create a beautiful connection on par to what was done in Stand By Me. Cooper Hoffman gets the story going as Ray when becoming the first one to have high determination for success, having a goal that many would strategize much differently. There’s no doubt Ginnie loves him as Judy Greer portrays her one so anxious of what will transpire, but he can’t help going through because he looked up to his dad too much knowing damn well no one should be killed for having a different opinion. Aware of this is what makes him open minded to bond with everyone he speaks to and share expected grief as they die one by one, not anticipating he would join them next. Pete would end up being his best friend when it was all over because David Jonsson has us love his genuine optimism as the past moments of trial & tribulation he’s been through in advance has brought him to a stance where he just wants the closest piece of prosperity for everyone besides himself. The second he loses his friend is where he loses hope again if it wasn’t already his first, hence fulfilling his wish. It does sound like an easy choice to kill a malicious man like the Major, considering that Mark Hamill has us digest he genuinely believes laws are the only way to live, but pulling the trigger does lead to an argument that a breaking point can define our lives forever. Everyone of us has setbacks in one form or another, but they can also become our moment to gain new purpose which is what I believe Pete is thinking when he chooses to keep walking even when it’s all over, not letting the trail of blood be in vein. It wasn’t easy seeing Ray go, but it was just as heartbreaking when it came to everyone else before him because again, they just had their whole lives ahead of them even when they may have not thought so. From the beginning, you’re already gasping over Curley because Roman Griffin Davis made him the most naive and then when it came to Rank, that was just uncomfortable as well because Daymon Wrightly showed him as the one that was trying to keep to himself. Then as we saw the perpetrator that was Gary, Charlie Plummer assures he’s just as insecure despite seeing him make a grave mistake. The guy was a loner before it all started and just didn’t know how to properly out himself out and sadly, it took his death to be redeemed. And that’s made me cry over Art since Tut Nyot made him the most easy going and was upfront in honesty that he was seeking friendship when he joined. What made it hard to watch was the fact we didn’t hear a trigger get pulled implying he was able to leave peacefully. I actually cried the hardest though when it came to Hank because Ben Wang because while cocky, he had his confidence as he thought the best strategy of winning being ‘dog eat dog’ only for him to find out he got it wrong the moment he lost his gum. When he dropped, even I wish I could save him the way Art tried. When Collie died, I just felt drained because Joshua Odjick had to present him that he was one who needed abrasiveness to make it as far as he did. Once he saw he was out of fuel, he used it to define how much pride he has all along. Taking a step back, it sure stung seeing Harkness go because Jordan Gonzalez showed to have his own optimism, aspiring to write about his experiences which could’ve been an interesting domino effect because it could’ve had people think differently about the walk’s purpose. Sadly, he didn’t get to live that dream. Last but not least, it was a big surprise to connect with Stebbins because Garrett Wareing showed he had a big vulnerability and chose to remain detached for the most part so that the journey wouldn’t be so painful to go through. He just wanted to be with his dad, be accepted, only for that to not go as planned either. At the very least, he found acceptance by his side of camaraderie rather than at the front where he was looking. Because Pete is still walking however, I will go on believing none of these deaths are in vein. If the alternate ending shows him give shares of the prize money to the relatives of his peers after refusing to kill the major, then I’d like to believe that would still canonically happen because their families deserve something to cope with the loss even when knowing it won’t change what happened and it still fits his character. This movie was definitely better than I thought, but then I was scratching my head over some things that confused me as I watched it. For starters, how is conserving energy labeled as Hint No. 13 according to Olson? I mean that’s all they do throughout the runtime so there’s no way twelve other hints should outrank that. And the Major trips me out when he says the boys should lineup in fives but not in particular order. I don’t know what he’s implying by that when that is in fact a particular order. While there is no actual finish line, he should say there is a metaphorical one due to the fact there will be one left standing and a crowd of spectators are able to see the final stretch as shown in the climax. It then sounds hypocritical for him to say there’s no warning for those who try to make a run for it, when one boy, No. 31 Percy Grimes (Dale Neri), actually gets a warning before getting shot down. That surprises me more than the fact could’ve done it at dark and drop back instead of trying broad daylight at the front. I know these boys are tired, but it’s a surprise he didn’t think about it. Also if Stebbins knows it’s punishable to talk badly of the Long Walk, I’m surprised he didn’t take advantage snitching on those who did. If he really wanted to be taken in by his father, that could’ve paid off overtime. And since Stebbins willingly tells the others that the Major sleeps at night and has time to shower while the walk is going on, I’m surprised nobody even asked if they were related. It even felt weird when Pete asks Ray if he walked off his warnings when he should already know that. They’ve been walking next to each other, so I don’t get how he’d miss that. It’s even sweet of Pete to have thought of co-winners of the Long Walk for the sake of hope. That is something that happens when Katniss Everdeen shares victory of The Hunger Games but if he really wanted to establish hope, I’d wish for not having a long walk anymore. I don’t even believe Collie when he says there’s no smog in Sioux Falls. This is set in the 20th century suffering from economic depression, so I’m sure there’d be some smog in a place like that. Lastly, does the Major kill every lawbreaker or did he just have it out for William when he did it himself? I have to ask since we don’t see other examples on how he runs things outside the walk. That’s more surprising than how the soldiers don’t give the remaining three any warnings for them cursing him out despite encouraging them, knowing it’s almost over for them. If you can ignore these flaws however, then you ca identify The Long Walk as a superior Stephen King adaptation for being boldly on point with everything that he was trying to say. If you like something that’s thought provoking out of something that was almost mistaken to be simple, see this now.