directed by Francis Lawrence
It’s a film about walking. Period. Can’t remember more accurate title of a film to be honest. It’s literally a looooong walk. But I’m still writing about it, which means I liked it, right? Right. And I believe you should try it as well. Before watching the film, I actually decided to read the book it’s based on. The title is the same and it was written by Stephen King, under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. I like to read books first, because then I can imagine the story myself. However, if I watch the film first, later, I just see the same pictures while reading. So I grabbed that novel and hoped for a fun ride, but instead I got incredibly bored. The general idea is amazing, but the way it was written – it was really difficult to keep on going. Even though the book is pretty short, it took me a long time to finish it. So I was quite discouraged before watching the film, but luckily, the adaptation is way better! We move to some alternative times where the US is in a huge economic crisis. Therefore, any way of earning money for living is worth trying. Any. In order to give people a chance to improve their life and also to entertain everyone, there’s a long walk organised. 50 young men (in the book there are 100) voluntarily sign up to walk nonstop across the country. Sounds easy? Well, there are some rules to follow. You cannot stop, you cannot walk slowly, so basically you cannot rest. And if you do, you get a warning. What happens after the 3rd warning? Well, the volunteer finishes the walk… and his life. Where’s the end of this? Simple – wherever the one before last dies. There can only be one winner. So as I said, I loved the idea for this story. To be honest, that’s exactly how I imagine the future – people will be doing anything to survive. Perhaps such long walks become an actual tradition… You may think it’s insane to sign up for something like this, but if the prize is huge and can significantly improve your life, then you don’t think twice. However, if you don’t like reflecting on such future, I may also share that to me this long walk is a metaphor for coming of age. All the volunteers are young men who see it as a competition, but then, during the walk, they start learning life lessons – both heart-breaking and uplifting. Just like in life. And it kind of depends on you how you walk your way, but there’s also a lot that cannot be controlled. Wait, is it again a depressing interpretation? Damn, I guess it is. Anyway, the film is much better than the book (I’m sorry Stephen/Richard), because I actually felt engaged in the story and not bored by the fact they’re just walking. Also, the ending is different in the film and, in my opinion, waaaay better! So if you haven’t read the book, you may skip it. But if you have and didn’t like it, then give this adaptation a chance. I hope you won’t be disappointed.
My rating: 6/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 