The Long Walk: A Powerful Message of Friendship

Courtesy of Lionsgate

The Long Walk was directed by Francis Lawrence, starring Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Judy Greer, and Mark Hamill in a movie adaptation of Stephen King's novel, The Long Walk. In a dystopian society after another American Civil War, an event called The Long Walk is held where teenage boys from all fifty states sign up to participate, and one boy from each state is randomly picked to represent their state. The last boy walking wins a ton of money and gets one wish.  The participants can’t slowly walk, stop walking, or get off the road, or they will be executed. They get a few warnings even if they stop to tie their shoes or to go to the bathroom. Francis Lawrence is experienced in directing dystopian movies based on books, from directing I Am Legend and most of The Hunger Games movies. It’s easy for most people to see the trailers and right away assume this is going to be another Hunger Games ripoff. However, The Long Walk was written years before The Hunger Games was written.

The Long Walk has great cinematography and camera work. For over ninety percent of the movie, the characters are always moving and walking, so the camera has to catch up with them. The few moments where the characters are not on the walk show flashbacks of Cooper Hoffman’s character, Ray Garraty, and his motivation for doing this walk. The message of the movie is what makes this a strong movie, which is strong friendships born in times of darkness. Ray meets a boy named Peter, played by David Jonsson, and the two quickly bond. The best moments are when the two talk, help each other, and learn about one another. They also form friendships with a couple of other boys, played by Ben Wang and Tut Nyuot. Even with some of the boys who seem like the typical Stephen King jerks you see and read in King movies and books, you learn that they aren’t really all that bad and have fine moments before they are killed off.

Cooper Hoffman plays Ray so well, and we learn why he wants to participate in this despite his mom, played by Judy Greer, begging him not to. It’s David Jonsson who gives the best performance in this movie. His character, Peter, is easily the most positive, uplifting, and mentally toughest of the fifty boys. He cares deeply for his new friends, and even when Ray yells at him at one point in the movie, Peter still helps him and doesn’t get upset with Ray. We learn Ray’s life has been rough, but it’s no excuse for him and his personality will win audiences over. In the few scenes Judy Greer is in as Ray’s mom, she manages to still deliver a powerful performance. Mark Hamill as the Major has some scenes, but his commanding presence and line delivery when he is on the screen is impactful and solidifies him as a strong villain.

The Long Walk will have some tough-to-watch and uncomfortable death sequences. Francis Lawrence does not hold back in showing how these boys get executed when they fail to walk. Some boys get sick during this walk. Some twist their ankles badly. Some fall and give up. Despite all of it, these boys manage to end up respecting one another and feel honored to walk alongside one another.

Despite the beautiful message of friendship, the movie ends in tragedy and you feel no one really won.

Overall, The Long Walk’s main message of friendship is what makes it one of the best movies of the year. The camera work and cinematography work well. David Jonsson is the standout in this movie. The Long Walk is one of the best movies of 2025, and if you are a fan of dystopian society movies as well as movies based on Stephen King novels, I recommend you check out The Long Walk if you haven’t already. My final grade for The Long Walk is an A-.

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