It’s an ad, ad, ad, ad world.

117 times already, and “the man from the future” (Sam Rockwell) still hasn’t gotten it right yet. Just after 10pm in an LA diner, the disheveled traveler appears, like he woke up in an abandoned Radio Shack and fashioned a suicide vest from surplus parts and a disposable rain poncho. He rants about the end of the world, how apps and social media have hijacked our attention, and names many of the patrons in the restaurant who’ve previously failed him. Now a couple of teachers (Zazie Beetz, Michael Peña), a desperate mother (Juno Temple), a pie enthusiast (Georgia Goodman), a doctor (Stevel Marc), a tough guy (Asim Chaudhry), and a fired princess (Haley Lu Richardson) might just be the combo needed to save the world… probably. Maybe. Or not. Crap.

Software update in progress; do not power off your device. Working from a script by Monster Trucks writer Matthew Robinson, Gore Verbinski makes his return to the director’s chair after a decade-long sabbatical or something, I don’t know. Known for his Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy as well as original fare like The Mexican and a creeptastic remake of The Ring, Verbinski knows how to balance humor in his quirky thrillers, this time playing directly into the talents of professional oddball Sam Rockwell. Sure, we’ve seen Terminator 3 (on three separate occasions), Tron: Ares, and numerous other self-aware AI horror stories about humanity fighting to survive, but is humanity really trying? Has everyone voluntarily embraced The Stepford Society for a so-called better reality? Drop that phone and back away…

Told in real-time with occasional flashbacks, Good Luck is an exercise in staying focused, because attention is the currency we pay for AI with… and it knows what distracts you (it has from the very beginning). What feels like a plausible present quickly unfolds into the near-future, world-building with our characters who are just as confused by sudden revelations as the viewers are. As a weird adventure with dire consequences, Rockwell’s flipflopping demeanor from crisis-mode to laissez-faire feels like a coping mechanism, playing up disturbing yet hilarious manic episodes while everyone is running and screaming. For the inexperienced, this is kind of what ADHD feels like — you’re welcome — but do pay attention, because it all makes a bizarre time-travel-y Master Control Program kind of sense. TL;DR: Someone finally thought up a prequel to The Matrix with the infusion of Safety Not Guaranteed.

You know those video games where it’s important to pick up everything, because something just being there indicates necessity? Whether it’s a talking pug or a post-apocalyptic sunrise, anything and everything off the cuff is going to come back to haunt our heroes… like suddenly seeing ads for Door Dash options when someone mentions being peckish within earshot (yes, dear readers, the world of Minority Report is essentially here). As Peter Venkman warned, “Don’t think of anything. We’ve only got one shot at this.” Just because it looks cute and/or silly doesn’t mean it won’t bite your head off, man. The sheer number of internal callbacks must have kept the continuity editor up at night — especially the spot-on red LED digital countdown timer throughout — and was totally worth it. Thanks, script supervisor Aparna Jayachandran!

The film is full of nerdy Easter eggs, like a clock with hands showing a time of 10:09:30 (if you don’t know the significance of this, swipe between faces on that Apple Watch you’re wearing). As a story escalating modern convenience to its worst possible conclusion, it walks the line between gentle ribbing and earnest warning, taking advantage of your willing participation beginning and ending with “I agree.” You DID read the entire EULA before you clicked it, right? Oops.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is rated R for pervasive language, violence, some grisly images, brief sexual content, and endlessly eating pellets in a maze while avoiding ghost monsters.

Four skull recommendation out of four