“I keep hoping that part gets easier.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

I’ve wanted to check this out since it was in theaters because of how interesting the concept was to me, but unfortunately never got the chance. It’s been available to rent for about two weeks now, and I’ve been patiently waiting for it to go down in price. Well, my patience ran out today, and I would absolutely say it was worth the twenty bucks. I’m not sure how this is going to age with movies like Marty Supreme and Hamnet coming out, but this is easily the movie of the year for me so far.

The concept, as I said, is brilliant: a competition where everyone must walk at the same minimum pace until the very end, and if they don’t, they get three warnings. If they don’t get back up to pace by the third warning, it’s over. Oh yeah, and there can only be one winner. It’s a concept that is not only intriguing but builds a sense of tension and dread before you even hit play, and that feeling never goes away once you start watching it. It’s one of the most heartpounding thrillers I’ve seen in a hot minute, and I was so hooked that I rarely ever checked to see how much longer was left, which is something incredibly rare for me.

The reason that it’s so heartpounding is that it gets you to truly care about these characters and get a feel for the situation they are in, and I found myself both caring and worrying about all the main characters barely into the film. It doesn’t take much time before you start to connect with them because, while the story may not be grounded (it’s even classified as science fiction for some reason), the characters sure are. They have either something to truly lose or something to gain, which makes them compelling. They aren’t all your typical “trope” characters either, but still manage to be unique and set themselves apart from one another. The development of these characters cannot be understated either. We see the psychological effect that this “Long Walk” has on each of them, and the more and more we learn about each one of them, the more and more tragic not only their character development is, but the inevitable deaths they face. Most of these guys lose sight of what truly matters in life, as they become more and more desensitized death after death, and it’s truly horrifying to watch.

That’s what made this movie stand out to me amongst all the other movies I’ve seen this year; it’s emotionally visceral, but not manipulative in any way because it does all the groundwork to make things as impactful as they need to be. I haven’t seen a new movie in a long time where I was this emotionally invested and not just entertained. I wouldn’t even say “entertaining” is a good word for this movie. It is not boring whatsoever, but what kept me glued to the screen were the characters and their bonds and companionships with one another. The main worry I had for this was that the concept of it was going to be drawn out, because while I loved the concept, I saw it as more fitting for a short film rather than a feature film, but that wasn’t the case at all. The conversations that everyone has with each other keep this movie going, and they do so many things at once; they keep things interesting, develop characters, and give just the right amount of comedic relief at times, but nowhere near too much. The things revealed through these conversations make things even more tragic as well.

Speaking of bonds and companionships, that’s what makes this movie so powerful. Not only do you care about all of the characters, but they all care about each other (well, most of them). This keeps the film from being overly bleak because if they were all selfish and didn’t look out for one another, there wouldn’t be any positive messages to take away from the film at the end of the day. The brotherhood of especially our main leads, and what some of them sacrifice for each other, and not just literally, made this unbelievably powerful and something that truly connected with me.

None of this would work without not just good, but great performances. Every single actor (and I mean every single one), even if they have very little screen time, gives an incredibly believable and compelling performance. Our main stars, which I won’t spoil besides the main two, since they are all over the marketing, let me tell you, are all going places. Cooper Hoffman, whom I didn’t realize was the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman until recently, one of the most legendary and acclaimed actors of all time, definitely lives up to his father’s reputation, and I’m sure his father would be proud. To me, though, the standout was definitely David Jonsson as Peter McVries. He was so good in last year’s Alien: Romulus that he actually ended up topping Bishop as my favorite android in the entire franchise, and his performance in The Long Walk is even better than in that film. I think it’s about time this guy gets to be the main lead in something. One of the standout performances of the year.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the cinematography and even the score. The cinematography I believed also helped the pacing, because the new locations we walk through with these characters are different and unique enough to be able to tell apart which scene is which. While the score isn’t super prominent overall, I think that’s what makes it so impactful. It’s not only well composed, but whenever it is used, it’s used during the most tense and emotional scenes.

Pretty much everything I've talked about leads to an incredible ending. It caps off the character development in an extremely powerful way and leaves you with so much to think about because of what one of the main characters decides to do. It’s bleak, as the concept promises, but impactful nonetheless.

I don’t have any negatives to name, but a mixed is definitely the bleakness, as I just mentioned and have already mentioned or hinted at numerous times. This is certainly not a movie for everyone, and I could see a lot of people claiming this to be a “one and done” sort of movie, even if they liked it. It does offer hope in certain times, but the inevitable end that the concept creates makes for a very hard-to-watch type of movie.

The Long Walk is easily the movie that has connected with me the most so far this year, and while it probably won’t, I sure believe it deserves Oscar attention.