Hopes were not high for “The Long Walk” being a hit, but after its release Friday, Sept. 12 it was a surprisingly enjoyable watch. By no stretch of the imagination was it a perfect film, but managed to keep audiences engaged with the relationship dynamics of their small cast of characters and it’s dystopian setting.

At first glance the story seems shallow, every year young men across the United States enter a lottery, one from each state wins and they get to participate in The Long Walk, A competition where stopping means certain death and the winner gains whatever he desires the most. This sounds pretty grim, but that description doesn’t do the film justice. The motivations and the struggles that these kids deal with is something that cannot be described in a few words. Out of all the amazing performances “The Long Walk” credit has to be given to actors David Jonsson, Cooper Hoffman and Charlie Plummer, who played Peter McVries, Raymond Garraty and Gary Barkovitch respectively. They all put heart into their roles and manage to breathe life into an overall simple story. 

The dynamic between McVries and Garraty is a highlight as their dialogue bounces off as if they’ve been friends for a lifetime.

The trailers and beginning makes it clear that there can only be one winner, even so strong bonds form between several characters and while they are competing against each other they still care about each other and a sort of support system. 

This film perfectly encapsulates a sense of brotherhood and the tragedy that there can only be one left standing. Director Francis Lawrence decided to play loose with the original Stephen King novel by changing the number of participants, several character actions and even the winner of The Long Walk is different. There are other smaller differences, but fans of the original work still be able to enjoy the movie with a fresh set of eyes.

For a movie where the main plot revolves around people constantly walking, “The Long Walk” manages to exceed expectations with its solid cinematography. Even though there are limitations that can’t be helped due to the nature of the movie, Joe Willems really sets the tone with the muted colors and long shots focusing on the main cast of characters. The world of dystopian America would not be as effective if it wasn’t for him. 

While it does a great job on some things, there are several reasons why it fails to blow me away. Aside from Garraty, McVries and Barkovitch characters aren’t fleshed out and that is so disappointing to see. Hell I wouldn’t have minded if they added 20 minutes just to give some of the other characters more of a spotlight. Some characters only manage to get exposition dumps near the end of the film and it was just unsatisfying. Some viewers have also pointed out that the original ending had a stronger message and the filmmakers ruined the original vision of the story and while I don’t agree with that, it’s easy to understand where they are coming from.

Overall it’s solid in some areas and lacking in others, but like most movies audiences should give it a chance to see if it’s right for them, as long as they are into dystopian somber movies. Readers of the original book should also try watching it since they might manage to prefer the changes that Lawrence has provided.