{"id":2571714,"date":"2026-02-20T05:29:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T10:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virtual-unreality\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T05:36:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T10:36:37","slug":"virtual-unreality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virtual-unreality\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual unreality"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">4<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvirtual-unreality%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2571714&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Gore Verbinski\u2019s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don\u2019t Die is a timely anti-AI, anti-digital-age science-fiction comedy that uses a time-travel premise to critique how smartphones and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-death-of-movies-has-come\/\" title=\"The Death of Movies Has Come\">virtual reality<\/a> are reshaping society.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; In the film\u2019s setup, Sam Rockwell\u2019s unnamed, wily traveler from the future arrives in a present-day diner to warn Americans that the world will deteriorate as people become enslaved to digital technologies. He recruits a motley crew\u2014teachers Mark and Janet,who have their own struggles with tech,and other characters whose lives reveal the dehumanizing effects of constant connectivity. Subplots include a mother who clones her deceased son, only to discover the clone is a hollow promotional tool, and Ingrid, who suffers nosebleeds whenever near devices or Wi-Fi and clings to a Luddite, off-the-grid lifestyle.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The movie blends homage and originality, drawing on Back to the Future, The Terminator, They Live, and Groundhog Day, yet it never feels like mere pastiche. Verbinski\u2019s direction is sturdy and urgent, balancing brisk action with warm, low-tech humor. The narrative uses punchy flashbacks to flesh out the characters\u2019 personal experiences with digital delusion without stalling the forward plot.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Central themes center on how small conveniences\u2014like not memorizing phone numbers or constantly scrolling\u2014can erode civilizational responsibility. The film argues that AI and ubiquitous virtual reality threaten humanity\u2019s soul, presenting a cautionary, sometimes comic meditation on tech addiction.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The performances, led by Sam Rockwell, are a major strength, with strong supporting work from Michael Pe\u00f1a, Zazie Beetz, Juno Temple, and Haley Lu Richardson. richardson, in particular, stands out for embodying her character\u2019s off-the-grid sensibilities.The third act leans into striking visual effects,but the core premise remains engaging and intelligible.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The ending has a Twilight Zone-like twist that leaves the audience both entertained and unsettled.If this proves Verbinski\u2019s last large-scale film, it would be a bold, craft-focused capstone; Rockwell\u2019s performance and the film\u2019s thoughtful, sometimes wry critique of digital culture leave a lasting impression.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Virtual unreality<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>I may be one of the few people remaining on the planet to both maintain a landline telephone and to decline to avail myself of the alleged benefits of a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/smartphones\/\">smartphone<\/a>. And there is nothing in the new invigorating, imaginative science-fiction <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/comedy\/\">comedy<\/a> <em>Good Luck, Have Fun, Don&rsquo;t Die<\/em> that leads me to reconsider my choices.<\/p>\n<p>The savvy, witty movie from director Gore Verbinski stakes out an explicitly <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/artificial-intelligence\/\">anti-AI<\/a> and, more broadly, anti-digital-age position that is refreshing, even fortifying, in a time when rapid, dehumanizing technological advancement is taken as a glum given. Sam Rockwell stars as a wily, cynical time-traveling refugee from the future. Never named, the man is the bearer of bad news to America in the 2020s: In the years to come, he asserts, the public will have become so thoroughly immersed in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/2631717\/ups-deploys-virtual-reality-to-train-workers-amid-holiday-sprint\/\">virtual reality<\/a>, and will have so completely abdicated their civilizational responsibilities to AI, that the world will be on the verge of collapse.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4462627\/how-will-current-yellow-journalism-end\/\">Meet the press: How will today&#8217;s yellow journalism end?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4458601\/curling-controversy-canada-sweden\/\">Controversy in the courteous world of curling<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4458607\/malice-hard-truth-amazon-prime-series-review\/\">Malice&rsquo;s hard truth<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In the opening scene, Rockwell&rsquo;s character teleports to a present-day diner, where he holds court with all the mad-scientist oddness of Doc Brown. As if to prove his point, the diner&rsquo;s patrons are seen scrolling their phones, recoiling from another&rsquo;s touch, and expressing general indifference to the digital apocalypse foretold by the time traveler.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sam Rockwell in &ldquo;Good Luck, Have Fun, Don&rsquo;t Die.&rdquo; (Courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In addition to <em>Back to the Future<\/em>, the movie liberally incorporates elements from <em>The Terminator<\/em>, <em>They Live<\/em>, and <em>Groundhog Day<\/em>. But because it marshals them to tell the timeliest of tales, it never feels like a retread or homage. In fact, the only thing old-fashioned about the movie is the sturdily constructed, fluidly realized direction by Verbinski. A quarter-century or more ago, Verbinski was responsible for such eminently craftsmanlike entertainments as <em>Mouse Hunt <\/em>(1997), <em>The Mexican <\/em>(2001), and <em>The Ring <\/em>(2002) before progressing to the <em>Pirates of the Caribbean<\/em> franchise, whose best entries he helmed. <em>Good Luck, Have Fun, Don&rsquo;t Die<\/em> proves that he has not lost his touch, but he directs with the urgency of someone who is himself imperiled by AI&rsquo;s march: creative, original, relatively well-financed movies such as this one are certain to be among the first to evaporate if too many people become too entranced by fake videos on the order of the recent AI clip featuring the likenesses of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt clobbering each other &mdash; the sort of pointless but hypnotic simulacrum this <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/movies-and-films\/\">movie<\/a> warns against.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, <em>Good Luck, Have Fun, Don&rsquo;t Die<\/em> is that rare <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/movies\/\">modern movie<\/a> that entertains and edifies in equal measure. That&rsquo;s largely because its assessment of the digital revolution&rsquo;s impact on people&rsquo;s spiritual condition comes with a shock of recognition. Nothing that Rockwell&rsquo;s character asserts, in his dire report from the future, sounds terribly uncanny or even implausible. &ldquo;It all started with morning phone time,&rdquo; he says, before noting how texting, calling, or watching videos evolved from an occasional activity to a way of life. &ldquo;Pop quiz,&rdquo; he asks, while slurping a milkshake at the diner. &ldquo;Anybody know a phone number?&rdquo; Of course, no one has a number committed to memory &mdash; why bother when they can look it up on their smartphone? From such small &ldquo;conveniences,&rdquo; the movie is telling us, a society can destroy itself.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, our hero has been down this path before. He has, he says, journeyed back in time on more than a hundred prior occasions to round up comrades to put a halt to AI (using technology developed in the future but needed in the present). This software is shown to be housed on a flash drive, which is not confidence-inspiring. Even less reassuring is the band of random misfits Rockwell&rsquo;s character cajoles into participating in his plan. This includes married, harried teachers Mark (Michael Pena) and Janet (Zazie Beetz), whose recent experience helps explain their willingness to go along with such a loony plot. Upon trying to engage his class in a discussion of Anna Karenina, Mark encounters the usual Gen Z indifference (&ldquo;Is it YA?&rdquo; one girl asks). More alarmingly, when he tries to power down an inattentive student&rsquo;s smartphone, he triggers some sort of mass reaction among the horde of high-schoolers. The image of a mob of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >blank-faced adolescents wielding handheld devices<\/a> is one of the most frightening in cinema since <em>Night of the Living Dead<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Other characters have had their own disheartening experiences with digital delusions that are just a step (or two or three) removed from our own reality. For example, Susan (Juno Temple) mourns the loss of her son to such an extent that she consents to have the boy cloned &mdash; a not-unimaginable future when we consider the chatbot simulations of today. Of course, Susan finds that the clone is a soulless substitute apt to spout advertisements for soft drinks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And then there is Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson), who, in a replay of the condition that bedeviled Julianne Moore in Todd Haynes&rsquo;s <em>Safe<\/em>, is afflicted by nosebleeds whenever she finds herself in proximity to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/insane-poll-shows-45-of-dems-approve-sending-unvaccinated-to-designated-facilities\/\" title=\"INSANE: Poll Shows 45% Of Dems Approve Sending Unvaccinated To \u2018Designated Facilities\u2019\">digital devices<\/a> or too much Wi-Fi. She commits herself to a Luddite lifestyle by performing as a princess at children&rsquo;s birthday parties until her clientele themselves start to routinely use smartphones. Among a memorable supporting cast, Richardson stands out for credibly inhabiting her off-the-grid character, who listens to vinyl and cassette tapes, owns a camera that shoots film, and so on.<\/p>\n<p>The stories of Mark, Janet, Susan, and Ingrid are sketched in punchy flashbacks that are entertaining on their own without halting the forward momentum of the plot. Although Rockwell&rsquo;s character has a futuristic mission &mdash; to hobble the humanity-destroying potential of AI &mdash; he goes about it with appealingly low-tech techniques, including ducking into alleyways and avoiding gunfire from assorted bad guys. During these stretches, <em>Good Luck, Have Fun, Don&rsquo;t Die<\/em> becomes a kind of companionable action comedy &mdash; fun, exciting, unpretentious. The third act departs from this mode by leaning heavily into visual effects and increasingly over-the-top imagery, but the fundamental premise is so compelling that we do not mind the excesses in its execution.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Anyone worried about the consequences of our digital addictions or acquiescence to the AI avalanche will find a sympathetic filmmaker in Verbinski, who has worked mighty spottily over the last 15 years or so.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine\/4447019\/catherine-ohara-obituary-hollywood-actress-humor\/\"><strong>CATHERINE O&rsquo;HARA, 1954-2026<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Is <em>Good Luck, Have Fun, Don&rsquo;t Die <\/em>his last movie made on this scale? If that turns out to be the case, he has outdone himself. So has the always-engaging Rockwell, who munches on all the scenery in sight.<\/p>\n<p>By the film&rsquo;s head-spinningly <em>Twilight Zone<\/em>-esque ending, whose details are too good to reveal here, I was reassured once more that I had done the right thing by sticking to my landline and avoiding smartphones. Now, how do I stop watching YouTube videos when I am supposed to be writing?&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Peter Tonguette is the film critic for the <\/em>Washington Examiner <em>magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I keep a landline; this film won&#8217;t change my mind<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2691,"featured_media":2571715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/LA.Film_.022526.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[74177,74176,66532],"class_list":["post-2571714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-unreality","tag-virtual-reality-2","tag-vr"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/LA.Film_.022526.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2571714"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2571723,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571714\/revisions\/2571723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2571715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2571714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2571714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2571714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}