Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2025) – The Film Buff Review of one the best sci-fi movies of the year

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2025) – Gore Verbinski’s Triumphant Sci-Fi Return Delivers One of the Year’s Best Time Travel Movies

In a year packed with big-budget blockbusters, Gore Verbinski’s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2025) stands out as a razor-sharp, wildly inventive sci-fi dark comedy that proves original storytelling still reigns supreme. Directed by the visionary behind the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and Rango, this $20 million gem blends high-concept time-loop thrills, hilarious chaos, and thought-provoking AI satire into a must-watch cinematic experience. Starring Sam Rockwell in a career-highlight performance alongside Zazie Beetz, Juno Temple, Haley Lu Richardson, and Michael Peña, the film follows a man from the future who takes a Los Angeles diner hostage to recruit unlikely heroes and save the world from rogue artificial intelligence.

In this AKAPAD The Film Buff podcast review, I break down why Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is one of the best sci-fi movies of 2025 — and one of the strongest time travel films in recent memory. From its stunning Akira-inspired visuals and emotional depth to Verbinski’s masterful direction after a decade-long hiatus, this under-the-radar gem deserves far more attention than its modest box office suggests.

Listen to the full episode below or keep reading for key insights, spoilers (light), cast highlights, and why this film feels like a breath of fresh air in modern sci-fi. If you love clever genre-benders like Everything Everywhere All at Once or mind-bending thrillers with heart, this one’s for you.

[00:00:01]
The video begins with an informal and engaging introduction by Peter A. DeLuca, a self-described film buff. He sets the scene on a rainy Tuesday in Philadelphia, signaling a casual “morning drop” update for film enthusiasts. Peter highlights the relaxed atmosphere as he prepares coffee, emphasizing the early morning ritual common in production settings despite industry caution against drinking beverages during recordings. The tone is friendly and accessible, aimed at an audience that might be gaming, skipping work, or simply looking for movie suggestions.

[00:00:37]
Peter briefly digresses into a personal anecdote about an upcoming volleyball match, noting the friendly competition and camaraderie of the group, despite imperfect skill levels. This adds a relatable, human element to the video and underscores that the primary goal is enjoyment rather than winning.

[00:01:15]
He pivots to the main topic: director Gore Verbinski’s resurgence in 2025 after a lengthy absence from filmmaking. Verbinski, renowned for his 1990s and 2000s work, including The Ritual (1996) and A Cure for Wellness (2016), returns with a new movie. Peter notes the financial disappointment of A Cure for Wellness, which had a $40 million budget but earned only $26 million, resulting in a loss and failure to generate the strong word-of-mouth the filmmakers anticipated.
Key insight: A Cure for Wellness underperformed financially, losing approximately $20 million when accounting for production costs without adequate returns.

[00:02:07]
Before A Cure for Wellness, Verbinski had been involved with culturally significant but commercially complex projects tied to classic pulp and comic characters. Among these was The Lone Ranger (2013), a major blockbuster with an alleged budget of approximately $250 million. Despite featuring stars like Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, the film failed to recover total costs when including marketing and ancillary expenses, thus being classified as a financial loss.
Contextual comparison: The Lone Ranger is grouped with other pulp revivals such as Flash Gordon (1980), The Shadow, and The Phantom, illustrating Verbinski’s engagement with nostalgic, cult-genre material during prior years.

[00:04:30]
Peter contrasts The Lone Ranger with Verbinski’s earlier successes:

• Rango (2011): Animated, written by John Logan, budget approximately $135 million, grossed roughly $250 million, a clear financial success.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007): Budget near $300 million, box office approaching $1 billion, part of one of the most successful trilogies in recent film history.
  This timeline marks Verbinski’s prime filmmaking era, roughly 2002 to 2011, during which he was viewed as unstoppable.

[00:05:16]
Peter muses on Verbinski’s decade-plus hiatus from directing feature films between 2016 and 2025. He speculates on possible reasons such as back-to-back box office disappointments, personal choices like raising a family, or simply financial independence allowing a break.
He then contextualizes Verbinski’s return with a discussion of other prominent directors like Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and Michael Bay, noting how even these veterans experienced pauses but ultimately returned to public attention.

[00:06:11]
The new Verbinski film, Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die, is lauded as exceptional and notably different from his prior recent works. Peter describes it as a “spectacular anomaly” for its razor-sharp direction and high quality in the science fiction genre, especially in the niche of time travel films. He regards it as “one of the best science fiction films” and “one of the best time travel movies” he’s ever seen, indicating a strong creative resurgence.

[00:06:53]
He provides a mild spoiler concerning the film’s ending: it concludes with a time loop, a narrative device often complex and challenging to execute successfully. However, Peter highlights that the emotional investment in the characters makes the time loop feel rewarding rather than repetitive—viewers are reluctant for the story to end, which he interprets as a sign of the film’s strong engagement and quality.
Insight: The film’s ability to deepen audience attachment to characters enhances its impact, an advanced storytelling technique.

[00:07:35]
Peter reflects philosophically on how well-made films create tipping points that resonate deeply with audiences, introducing a controlled chaos that enhances narrative complexity and emotional response. He praises Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die for this effect, calling its visuals “fantastic,” especially toward the climax.

[00:08:05]
Peter describes a climactic scene involving the pursuit of a “source,” an individual embodying programmer and algorithmic power, a nod to techno-thriller tropes and reminiscent of The Matrix. He praises the visuals as evocative of anime classics like Akira, suggesting the film achieves a live-action look matching that visionary style.
Key comparison: The film’s aesthetic and narrative complexity elevate it to the level of celebrated sci-fi masterpieces.

[00:08:48]
Financially, Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die reportedly had a modest budget of $20 million but earned only about $9 million at the box office, a dramatic underperformance given the film’s perceived quality and scale. Peter expresses confusion and disappointment that the market did not respond to what feels like a $100 million caliber film in production and storytelling quality.
Quantitative summary:

[00:09:28]
Peter revisits Verbinski’s legacy, particularly the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, calling it possibly the second- or third-best trilogy ever, emphasizing its tone, quality, and narrative through-line. He places it above or equal to major franchises such as Star Wars, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and the Matrix Trilogy. This is a strong critical endorsement reflecting Peter’s deep admiration for Verbinski’s best work.

[00:10:06]
Peter stresses the importance of Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die for the health of the science fiction genre, distinguishing it from mainstream star vehicles such as those featuring Ryan Gosling. He applauds the film’s cerebral, idea-driven approach, rewarding viewers with a richly developed world and clear “rules” that educate and captivate. This makes it a film that resonates beyond casual entertainment, appealing deeply to film buffs and sci-fi purists.

[00:10:43]
He voices a counterintuitive hope that the film never gets a sequel or gains excessive popularity via streaming platforms.
Conceptual argument: Keeping some films under the radar preserves their unique allure and discovery appeal, especially in the age of streaming oversaturation. Peter suggests that rarer viewing experiences have intrinsic value for dedicated audiences.

[00:11:18]
Peter highlights the talented cast:

• Zazie Beetz
• Juno Temple
• Haley Lu Richardson
• Michael Peña
• Sam Rockwell (noted for a particularly wacky, memorable performance)

These performances, combined with Verbinski’s direction, contribute to the film’s overall strength.

[00:11:24]
He closes with high praise and a strong recommendation for Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die, positioning it as an essential watch for serious cinephiles and science fiction fans. His enthusiasm is palpable, encouraging the audience to appreciate the film’s artistry and depth.

[00:11:48]
The video wraps with a friendly sign-off and applause, concluding the insightful and passionate film discussion.

Summary of Key Points:

• Gore Verbinski, acclaimed for the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and other genre films, took a long hiatus from directing between 2016 and 2025.
• His recent film Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die is an outstanding science fiction and time travel film praised for its razor-sharp direction, emotional depth, and striking visuals reminiscent of Akira.
• Despite being perceived as a $100 million caliber production, it grossed only $9 million on a $20 million budget, marking another commercial disappointment for Verbinski.
• Previous Verbinski films varied greatly in commercial success, with Rango and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End being major hits, while A Cure for Wellness and The Lone Ranger suffered losses.
• Peter A. DeLuca regards the Pirates trilogy as one of the top trilogies ever made, highlighting Verbinski’s unique contribution to modern cinema.
• The film is recommended especially for film enthusiasts and science fiction fans seeking a deep, thoughtful cinematic experience.
• There is a cautious preference that the film remains somewhat under the mainstream radar to preserve its special status among niche audiences.

Here is the transcript for this episode of the Film Buff Podcast

00:00:01
Quiet on the set. >> Camera speed, down production, take one. >> Action. >> Good morning, my AKA powers. This is the morning drop. This is where we like to do the new movie, so I can give you guys ideas and anyone that’s playing hooky from work or school. Well, here’s a movie suggestion for later today. I’m getting some coffee, by the way. Give me 1 second. Any producer will tell you, don’t drink during your recording. Well, we record a lot. We record early in the morning.

00:00:37
Sometimes we need some coffee to get us going, but Peter A. DeLuca here, the film buff. Welcome rainy Tuesday here in Philadelphia, PA. I got a volleyball match later. And and everyone in the volleyball group chat is already going crazy about if the game’s going to get delayed or canceled and then what what the scenario is. Not that it matters. We We play to have a good time. We don’t play to win because I don’t think we’re we’re very good, but we do have fun. We have a lot of fun out there on the court.

00:01:15
2025, Gore Verbinski came back into our lives. Gore, if you’re not familiar with this director, and he’s one of the best of the ’90s of the modern age. We know him from the 1996 The Ritual, but A Cure for Wellness, 2016. And I want to get into the the box office for this movie real quick. The movie cost 40 million and it made 26 million. You kind of want to say that we were hoping, right? And and I say we and I’m coming from the position of the distributor, the filmmaker makers, like

00:02:07
the you know, the people that got money invested in the Cure for Wellness. I want to say they were expecting A Cure for Wellness to have a solid word of mouth. It didn’t happen. The movie lost money. I mean, it’s gut-wrenching if a movie loses $20 million. Right before that movie though, 3 years prior, we have I think one of the most underrated pulp revivals ever. Now, you can put Walt Disney cuz you know Disney titles the movie. The Lone Ranger, 2013. We can put this movie with Flash Gordon from the ’80s.

00:02:55
Going back to the ’90s, The Shadow, The Phantom. When there’s a run, let’s just say like a 30-year run, 20-year run to bring some of these uh you know, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating, beloved characters back into the mainstream and you see the best of Hollywood show up for it as we did with The Phantom, as we did with The Shadow and as we did with with Flash Gordon. The Lone Ranger cost a Oh my god, $250 million. It It made that back slightly. When we roll in all the other expenses

00:03:45
of marketing, so on and so forth The Lone Ranger is a loss, but here’s the thing. When you make a movie that expensive, it’s it’s tough to make your money back unless the movie has got to pop. But, like it had Armie Hammer who was on the rise back then and Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp was headlining with Johnny Depp Depp as Tonto and that that whole train sequence. I love the train sequence in The Lone Ranger. The movie just seemed to to sputter or fade away. Uh lots of bad press. So, what was the film right before this?

00:04:30
Well, it was Rango. Animated film with Johnny Depp. Written by John Logan, one of the best CEO. John Logan wrote the Michael Jackson movie. Rango cost 135. Okay, and it made it made 100 million. Made roughly 250 million dollars. So, that’s good. And then we get Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Almost a billion dollars off of 300. Who knows what the reasons are that this guy, uh who I really feel like uh ever since the rank 2002 just seemed unstoppable from 2002 to 2011. We all know, right? It

00:05:16
We go from 2016 to 2025 with no movie from this guy. I believe a lot of people felt like he retired. Maybe back-to-back box office splutters got him out. Maybe he got kids and wanted to raise a family for a little bit and had enough money, didn’t have to work. But, you come back with this movie. And we look at Steven Spielberg recently. We look at Francis Ford Coppola. We look at even guys like Michael Bay who’s right like Michael Bay has a little bit of of a pause. But to go like 10 years with no release.

00:06:11
And then when we compare this release to the comeback movies or yeah, I guess the press play again movies cuz the pause is over with some of those guys I just mentioned. And good luck, have fun, don’t die stands out as something spectacular. It is a anomaly in the quality where this guy doesn’t seem to miss a beat at all. The this film cuts like a razor blade. It’s one of the best science fiction films. It’s one of the best time travel movies uh that we have period. Now, I’m going to give you a little bit

00:06:53
of a spoiler here. If I haven’t hyped this movie up enough, here’s a little bit of a spoiler cuz I know you guys love the spoilers. We end this movie with a time loop. Here’s the crazy thing though. We’re expecting the time loop. See, this movie delivers so much on every angle that we almost like don’t want the adventure to end for the characters. That we want them to continue cuz we love them so much. That’s something really special. I don’t know if that’s intentional, but that’s

00:07:35
when you make a quality movie you know, these are some of the things that happen with the audience that it’s it’s just a little bit of chaos, or tipping point, right? Like you do enough good, it tips in in in a favorable way. I think this movie’s great. Uh, the visuals at the end are just fantastic. Uh, at the end of the movie, they they hunt down I guess we can call it the source. Uh, if you you know, cuz we’re always using Matrix terms here. But they hunt down the source and they have to

00:08:05
get to someone who’s programming computers and and algorithms. And when we see that, it’s incredible. And then how it just ratchets up from that point, visually. I mean, I was getting just visions of like Akira watching this. I’m thinking, man, like this is really what a live action Akira would would look like. I think this is one of I mean, I don’t even know what the what what is the box office for this movie. This movie made 20 He made for 20 million. And this movie feels like a hundred million dollar

00:08:48
movie. And box office wise, it made only 9 million. So, this is like a third drop for one of the best directors that that we have, who uh, to be fair, the and I don’t know why people just don’t get it, but the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest, At World’s End. I it’s one of the best through line trilogies that that we have. Uh, maybe second or third all-time trilogy, just because of the tone. Uh, I think it’s equal more to the original Star Wars.

00:09:28
You know, like Star Wars uh, falls off with Return of the Jedi. This is better than the Dark Knight trilogy. This is better than the Matrix trilogy. Uh, yeah, like it’s it’s 100% there and people just play dumb about that that main stress and at world’s end. >> [snorts] >> But AKA powers, if you care about the health of science fiction, that’s not you know, Ryan Gosling and and Hail Mary, but just like big ideas and and they’re just you get the breadcrumbs as you’re

00:10:06
watching movie and you learn a lot of the rules and you’re educated and you get the world that we’re in. And it’s really just a world that sticks with you. You want more of uh I I I hope this movie never gets a sequel. I In a way, like true science fiction films, I’m hoping this film doesn’t pop on stream cuz I think just for the film buffs and the film goers and the the science fiction fans, like sometimes we sometimes we just need movies that we know nobody’s ever seen.

00:10:43
Uh that’s harder to do today with with the world we live in with with with the streaming world. But yeah, AKA powers, what a shocking, amazing, fun, wild movie that also stars Zazie Beetz. Uh yeah, we got to do it do do the shout-out for Juno Temple. She’s great in this. Uh Haley Lu Richardson, incredible. Michael Pena is awesome and then uh Sam Rockwell that just gives one one of his all-time wacky performances. Uh don’t sleep on this one. I can’t I cannot recommend Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die by one of our premier

00:11:24
filmmakers, Gor Verbinski. Can’t recommend this movie enough. I love you guys. Happy film buffing. Rock and roll. Bye. >> Okay, that’s a wrap. >> [applause]

PETER A DELUCA AKAPD

AKAPAD is a versatile thinker known across Philadelphia, Europe, and even in the vast Multiverse as The Electic One. By day, he excels as an IT Mastermind, assisting individuals, both big and small, with a wide range of simple and complex solutions. In contrast, he is also a talented illustrator, a passionate comic book enthusiast, a creative content creator, and an active live streamer. Additionally, his podcast, “AKAPAD The Film Buff Podcast,” boasts an impressive catalog of over 500 episodes available on nearly every major platform.