Just one step at a time. Welcome to The Long Walk, a yearly occurrence born out of the need to motivate the United States populace following an undefined and crippling war. Seeing 50 randomly selected teenage boys walk endlessly for the chance at unfathomable riches and to get one wish fulfilled inspires citizens to work harder and raise the gross domestic product! In a depressing world, the message of The Long Walk as shared by “The Major” (Mark Hamill) promotes hope from both its participants and viewers.
Ray Garrity (Cooper Hoffman) arrives at the beginning of Route 1 dropped off by his mother, Ginnie (Judy Greer). He, like all of the other participants, knows the rules. Maintain a walking speed of 3 miles per hour. An inability to do so means a warning. Receiving three warnings without raising your speed back to 3 miles per hour in 30 minutes means the Walker is executed on sight by the ever-present soldiers.
Albeit counterintuitive, Garrity starts to build bonds with some of the other walkers, like Peter McVries (David Jonsson), Olson (Ben Wang), and Art (Tut Nyuot), all of whom have their own motivations for walking. The “Musketeers” also begin to make enemies in the antagonistic Barkovich (Charlie Plummer) and the enigmatic Stebbins (Garrett Wareing). Despite each knowing what they’ve gotten themselves into, nothing can prepare them for the first time a fellow walker meets their end, and the arduous physical and psychological pain of the neverending trudge.
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When it comes to living authors whose individual works have been adapted the most, none come close to Stephen King. Pertaining to King adaptations, you never quite know how they’re going to turn out, not solely in quality, but in King’s assessment of the final product of a handful of his works. With The Long Walk, King’s very first novel written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, it’s a sneaky challenging work to bring to the movie screen, but an impressive group effort helps to create one of 2025’s best features.
Tasked with translating what’s on the pages into a visual language is director Francis Lawrence. With his work in establishing the dystopia-focused The Hunger Games series from popular young adult book series to profitable film series, it’s a natural fit. By setup, The Long Walk is physically demanding, and Lawrence’s camerawork and that of longtime cinematographer partner Jo Willems is tight and procession-like, rarely using any hard cuts or anything that could be considered stylistic.
The broadcasted to the nation element is lacking, but the walk as shot gives off the impression of claustrophobia, despite the setting taking place on the open road. Lawrence doesn’t shy away from the viscerally uncomfortable moments either, but they never feel super gratuitous, and Lumineers member Jeremiah Fraites provides a score that doubles as somber and inspiring. Sadly in spots, the dialogue is let down by mediocre sound mixing rendering a scene or two inaudible, the only noticeable technical issue.
When it first debuted in 1979, The Long Walk novel could be seen as a metaphor for war, specifically that of Vietnam and the loss of innocence. But the metaphors equally as strong are the allusion of the arduous walk to the neverending hamster wheel of capitalism, and the calcified numbness ever-repeating atrocities like the long walk create on a society. All very bleak stuff, but Lawrence and screenwriter JT Mollner also find hope in this brutal world through highlighting how brotherhood, love, humor, and hope for humanity can not only be found, but used as tools of transformation and salvation.
Mollner does take a couple of big swings to adjust the story, including one massive tweak at the end. While these choices are sure to be divisive, as someone who’s read the book I’m of the belief many of the decisions made do allow the film to end in a way that opens itself up for interpretation and providing enough finality, as compared to the highly ambiguous denouement of the book.
Throughout the runtime, it’s through the relationships of the boys that The Long Walk makes its imprint on the heart, driven by a phenomenal cast of up-and-comers who hopefully have lengthy careers after this. Hard not to feel like Hoffman is pulling from a personal place as more motivations for his character are slowly revealed, and Jonsson is an absolute magnet of charisma and range. Together, they are the yin and yang, creating one of the strongest relationships seen in cinema all year. Supporting turns by Wang, Nyuot, Joshua Ojdick, and very brief but powerful appearances by Greer function as intended in driving home the pathos. These are individuals whom you desperately do not want to see go.
A novel so focused on walking and the depressing reality of kids meeting their untimely ends doesn’t immediately seem like the best choice for a movie. But, The Long Walk pulls you into its harrowing rhythm from the first step taken, and the emotion lingers long after the last step is taken.
B+
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MMJ 
I did not enjoy this movie. It felt shallow, full of stock characters and clichéd dialogue. That brief moment when one marcher reflects on his parents was the only glimpse of real depth. I’m glad you liked it but not for me.
As a fan of the book, I was pretty surprised at how riveted I was with the movie. But I think it (like the book too) is on the edge of being maybe a little too exploitative. However, I found the cast, particularly the co-leads, extremely compelling.
Hi Mark, nice to be back reading here once again. Mrs. B and I passed on this one at the theatre but your review makes me think it might be worth a view at home when the time comes. Some King movies have “failed” me in the past, so perhaps I have pre-conceived notions that need to be set aside. Probably will give it a go now.
Nice to see you back Bruce. At minimum I’d give this one a stream at home. King adaptions can be hit and miss for sure but I found this one to be very very well done and even exceed the book in spots.