A “Man From the Future” arrives at a diner in Los Angeles where he must recruit the precise combination of disgruntled patrons to join him on a one-night quest to save the world from the terminal threat of a rogue artificial intelligence.

Gore Verbinski’s latest movie is the eye catchingly titled ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’, his first release in almost 10 years after ‘A Cure for Wellness’. It is a science fiction comedy about a man from the future who travels to the past to find individuals who are willing to risk their lives to save humanity from a rogue AI, with the staging post for recruitment being an L.A. diner. From there, the film unfolds as this increasingly frantic messenger attempts to convince a group of strangers that the end of the world is coming, and that they are somehow the key to preventing it.

It’s a wacky premise, and the film leans into that from the outset. If you’re going to cast a slightly unhinged man claiming to be from the future, Sam Rockwell is a very good place to start, and he throws himself into the role with his trademark approach. Verbinski matches that energy, throwing a lot at the screen in terms of tone, ideas and visual flourishes, though not everything he attempts works and the wackiness for me at least, became a little off-putting as the story progressed.

The narrative structure uses flashbacks to introduce each of the diner’s occupants, effectively creating mini ‘Black Mirror’-style episodes that explore how technology has shaped, and in some cases warped, their lives. There’s some sharp observational commentary running through these segments, particularly around our dependence on mobile phones and the way constant connectivity has dulled real human interaction, even if at times it veers close to sounding like an old man shouting at clouds. Still, the film is at its best when it focuses on those smaller, character-based moments rather than the bigger sci-fi elements.

By the time it got to its final act, I was losing patience and I felt it had bitten off way more than it could chew by this stage. The twists and turns pile up, growing increasingly elaborate and edging into the ridiculous, even by the standards of a film that has been happily gonzo from the start. There’s plenty to admire in its ambition and energy, but by the end I thought ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’ became overwhelmed by its ideas and the sharp satirical sci-fi that it hinted it earlier on gave way to big, brash and ultimately less interesting action and a less interesting movie.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Gore Verbinski

Starring: Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chaudhry, Tom Taylor and Juno Temple

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1341338/