‘The Long Walk’ displays hope in the face of adversity

By John Hiett

In an alternate timeline where the United States has become a totalitarian country, “The Long Walk” is a film set in a dystopian future where 50 kids, one from each state, compete in an annual walk until one is left standing.

The 2025 survival thriller film is a movie adaptation of Stephen King’s very first novel published all the way back in 1979: “The Long Walk.” It was one of King’s very first books as a freshman in college, taking heavy inspiration from the Vietnam War and the draft at that time. 

Enforced by The Major (Mark Hamil), “The Long Walk” is an annual walking event where teenage boys all over the country enter their names into a lottery to potentially compete and win unimaginable riches and fame. While the event doesn’t sound particularly crazy, there are a few basic guidelines that ramp up the stakes early on. 

The walkers are required to maintain a speed of three miles per hour on a preplanned route without any breaks. The walkers are given a warning if they fall behind pace for ten seconds, with the third warning leading to a walker’s immediate execution.

To give all the walkers in the competition a fighting chance, they are given some leeway in that they can lose a warning by keeping the minimum speed for an hour. If one walker is lucky enough to outlive the other 49 contestants, they are given a cash prize and one wish that can grant anything.

In terms of the cast, the film focuses on two walkers who quickly become best friends, Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman), and Peter McVries (David Jonnsson). Ray is the determined pessimist, initially motivated by vengeance against The Major for his cruel acts against the contestants and his own father.

In contrast, Peter is the peaceful optimist and aims to help his fellow contestants whenever he can, still taking the time to convince Ray that vengeance might not be the way to overthrow the cruel system. Despite their differences, they still learn from each and watch out for each other over the course of the film, proving that compassion and hope might be the force needed for positive change. 

Going into a general critique of the film, the movie’s ability to flesh out its characters and their personalities in under two hours is impressive. The film perfectly balances its lighthearted moments with the emotional ones. One minute the boys share back and forth banter, poking fun at each other’s quirks or personalities and the next minute they’re sharing food rations because a nearby walker ran out. 

All of the characters are exceptionally written and it makes the movie that much more emotional. The movie brings audiences to a point where you don’t want there to be one winner, you want all of them to survive and keep those connections.

The movie adaptation is very faithful to the source material, with the majority of the dialogue and scenes either being ripped straight out of the book or feeling like it. Credit should be given to the set design and world building for their ability to make endless empty interstate roads and create many beautiful scenic shots.

Despite it being a very bleak and brutal film, the writers do a tremendous job of displaying the small but heartfelt moments that highlight the walkers’ endurance, hope and camaraderie in a cruel event that’s solely meant to break and destroy them. 

Undoubtedly the film clearly communicates how The Walk is such a tragic event. However, through all of this suffering and in all that darkness, the characters continue seeing the light and make a stand against the horrific system and do so out of love and compassion instead of vengeance or hate.

A quote that is especially poignant to me even as I write this review is said at a crucial moment by Peter McVries when talking to Ray, “vengeance is not enough.” Even though it’s easier to resort to hate or vengeance when opposing evil, what will be right and truly enough to stand up for good and overcome evil is by being kind, compassionate, and forgiving towards others.

“The Long Walk” is currently in theaters

John Hiett is a senior biology major. He is passionate about any and all indie video games and loves getting coffee since starting college.

Images courtesy of Starz Entertainment.