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The Long Walk, starring Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson and directed by Francis Lawrence
Trailer: Lionsgate

The Long Walk
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Rated R
Strolled 12 September 2025
#TheLongWalk

The Long Walk works as a clever, alternative spin on the horrors of war, but the journey has its shortcomings.

The Walking Man

The Long Walk is based on a Stephen King story from way back, back when he went by the pen name Richard Bachman. The top-level story might sound familiar to fans of The Hunger Games, which Long Walk predates by decades. A group of 50 young men win the lottery and the prize is a spot as a contestant on the Long Walk. It’s a major national event designed – with portions broadcast live on TV – to reinvigorate a lazy populace, inspire a strong work ethic, revitalize a downtrodden economy and propel America back to being the world’s most productive country.

The contestants walk. And they keep walking. No stopping. No potty breaks. No sleep.

They’re constantly goaded on by a relentless, callous major wearing sunglasses by day and night.

The walkers must keep a consistent pace of at least 3 miles per hour. If they fall behind, they’ll get a warning. Three warnings and you’re on the verge of a ticket. Make it 3 hours without a warning and prior warnings will be absolved. Stray off the pavement and you’ll immediately be ticketed.

The ticket? It’s a bullet to the head.

The winner is the last man walking. The others, at that point, are all dead.

The prize is financial freedom and the granting of one wish.

It’s an intense story that, when taken at face value, is pretty nutty. But The Long Walk, first published in July 1979, is really an allegory about war, particularly the Vietnam War and the draft. Coincidentally or not, Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece Apocalypse Now was released in May 1979, with the country still trying to grasp what happened over there.

The Killing Streets

While the title cards set the spectacle and the lofty ambitions of the Long Walk, the movie intentionally tones down certain facets a little too much. There are the occasional observers, watching from the sidewalk or the field, but the sense of a captivated nation isn’t conveyed. That captivation would – in theory – mirror the broadcast news coverage from the war-torn fields of Vietnam.

Even so, The Long Walk is impressive filmmaking, particularly considering it features a group of guys constantly walking and constantly talking. Sometimes they argue. Sometimes they inspire. The focus is on character building – and that’s becoming more and more uncommon in this age of CGI-heavy spectacle.

The Long Walk is set in an undesignated time, but the environment is full of classic cars (1960s, early 1970s), the clothes are unbranded, and there’s not a single smartphone in sight. Still, there are many elements that resonant with today’s world – the unsettled US, discontentment, economic challenges. A search for belonging in a grueling world.

In the early going, it’s an exercise in picking out the sympathetic, the obnoxious, the punks, the crass and the classic "red shirts" that merely add to the background and will inevitably be the first to go. It’s a festival of F-bombs and other profanity.

At the heart of the group is Raymond Garraty (Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza) and Peter McVries (David Jonsson, Alien: Romulus). Their conversations drive a key theme: the challenges of finding light in all the darkness.

A fascinating behind-the-scenes story revolves around Cooper Hoffman, son of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Francis Lawrence directed Cooper’s father in his final performance in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Cooper’s character, Raymond, is a fatherless young man who "volunteers" for the Long Walk in hopes of accomplishing a personal mission. Hollywood lore has it Cooper tried to mess up his own audition but the director would have none of it; he knew he wanted (needed) Cooper in the role of Raymond.

As for the army major leading the walkers from behind, that’s Mark Hamill making an effective departure from Luke Skywalker and his animated voice work.

Band of Brothers

The walk goes on for 5 days and covers more than 300 miles of perpetual walking. At the start, the guys scope each other out. Who’s the fittest? Who’s the fattest? Who’ll be the serious competition and who’ll drop out first?

As the guys get to know each, some personal commonalities emerge and there’s a camaraderie that suggests they’d risk their lives for each other, much as those soldiers would out in the distant battlefields.

The Long Walk was shot chronologically, which is a smart strategy for Lawrence to follow. It provides the cast of strangers time to develop bonds naturally. They also feel the wear and tear of the walk, going from freshly showered and energetic to disheveled and struggling in a natural progression.

They also feel the pain of loss when one of their mates is killed (and leaves the movie set). And those murders are grisly, fully presented on screen to drive home the brutality of the environment in which these contestants are deemed as "lucky" to participate.

Given all that context, it’s hoped the movie’s heavy, jaded view of America would lead to some sort of catharsis. A purge of emotional baggage. Unfortunately, the ending falls a little flat. The ulterior motives of one of the contestants never plays out. While the champion picks up the mantle, it’s a strangely hollow victory.

Maybe that’s also emblematic of the Vietnam undercurrent, but it doesn’t make for a satisfying movie experience. It’s well-made, yes. But it lacks the punch all the brutality should serve.

• Originally published at MovieHabit.com.