Term Paper 2

Movie Experience Review: The Long Walk

When I found out about this assignment at the start of the semester, I was super excited. I'm not much of a big movie fan because I have a short attention span but my boyfriend and I love taking dates to the theatre. I can normally sit through a movie if it is in a theatre, but not so much when I am at home or with friends.

He decided on the movie just based on what was showing in theatres at the time. He didn't want to make me sit through a horror because I don't enjoy them and he also didn't want me to watch the Demon Slayer movie yet because I hadn't finished the show. So that narrowed it down a bit for us.

We drove to Texarkana on a Saturday morning, September 27, to go to Cinemark Texarkana 14. It was already so much nicer than Star Cinema considering I could purchase my tickets online and pick where I wanted to sit. On the way up there, I figured it would be packed, because this movie was popular on TikTok and it was relatively new, having come out September 12th of 2025. Boy, was I wrong.

I had him decide the movie because I had already decided I wanted to go to Texarkana, instead of my hometown of El Dorado. I figured because this was an assignment, I could use it as an excuse to go to a "nicer" theatre, as opposed to Star Cinema in El Dorado. I was already interested in seeing this movie because I had been seeing online that some theatres were showing the movie while people were walking on treadmills. If you stopped walking or fell off, you were escorted out of the theatre. I thought that was a rather cool concept especially considering the movie itself. You had to keep the same pace as the movie as well, and if  you dropped below, you would be escorted out for that reasoning, too.

We arrived at 12:30 PM, with our showing time being 1:00 PM. Upon walking in, I was already so much  more excited, and also confused. The entrances and tickets weren't as straight forward as it is in El Dorado. I didn't know where we were supposed to scan our tickets, and normally at Star Cinema you purchase your tickets at the concession stand. 

We purchased 2 large drinks, a large popcorn, and our choice of candy. Which was a combo meal offered at the front. Our food total was $29.95, while our ticket total was $20.33. This puts us at $50.28 upon walking in... expensive. Evan had seen online that Cinemark theatres had Jurassic World rebirth popcorn buckets so though we weren't there to see that movie, he asked anyway. They were sold out, presumably so.

The theatre offered hot dogs, hamburgers, and so many other things that I hadn't known about until and advertisement came on before the movie. I would've gotten a hotdog.

 

We quickly learned that there was a worker standing before the theatres who scanned our digital tickets and directed us in the correct direction. We were the first ones there, and for a while I thought we would be the only ones. 
People began showing up a little bit before 1 o'clock but in total there were only about 6 people there to see the movie, my boyfriend and I included. In fact, there was an older man sitting in front of us by himself. I could only assume he was just enjoying his day. 

Because we were the first ones there and the earliest to arrive, ads were not showing on the screen just yet. When they began, we were greeted with the first advertisement being "Noovie". This ad thanked us for being there early to enjoy Noovie's preshow full of interviews and movie quizzes. This is also where I learned that Cinemark had a clothing store. 

I was taken aback by the amount of modern music being used in some of these advertisements. Billie Eilish was used for an Uber ad, and Sabrina Carpenter's music was used for a thriller/horror ad, which seemed a little out of place. I've never seen either of their music as ad material, but it worked. There was even a specific ad segment just to recognize and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

The seats were very comfortable and spacious, I was able to sit and enjoy the movie in different seated positions. 

I did not enjoy the amount of ads there was for horror movies. 

Halfway through my popcorn bucket and fresh out of candy, it was finally 1:00 PM. But, the movie hadn't started yet.. ads were still running. This was not enjoyable. The movie did not actually begin until 1:30 PM, though it was advertised for 1:00 PM. I know next time I can just be late to the theatre. 

When I purchased our tickets, the day and time was automatically added to my google calendar so I found it very interesting when my phone went into Do Not Disturb unprompted. 

The movie started out really good, it threw you right into the start. The actors for this movie actually walked 400 miles in total whilst filming. I hope they got paid a lot. 
The screen kept glitching during the movie, and my attention went straight to that every time. There was lots of vulgar language and it was minorly graphic, which I don't enjoy. The movie in its entirety was rather good. Both the actors, producer, director, all did a swell job at showing the slow progression of people losing their minds. That and the importance of friendship and the people you meet along the way. 

"It's not about the destination. It's about the Journey" - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

There was no hidden product placement, which I could've guessed considering it is based off of a Stephen King novel. He's not notorious for things like that. This movie tugged at my heart strings the entire time, disregarding the fact that I am already a very emotional person. I started crying at one point and couldn't gather myself. 
I would say the theme of this movie was all about physical endurance and phycological warfare. In the end it was worth the price of admission and I would go back to see it again.