Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever

The movie never connects Johnson's bizarre lifestyle to any sort of larger, meaningful idea.

Despite this committed avoidance of a heavier thematic lift, Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever still works quite fine as a slice of diverting entertainment.

Faced with the problem of humanizing a man who aspires to cheat a fundamental aspect of human existence, Smith settles for a banal father-son arc.

Equal parts inspirational science lesson, probing personal portrait, infomercial, and lifestyle of the rich and messianic, the movie portrays Johnson as a relatable, probably decent and maybe even heroic guy.

Includes enough critical voices and material to complicate Johnson’s view about his actions and ethos—in the process undercutting the material’s superficial optimism.

The film raises questions about our assumptions [of Johnson] that are provocative and worthwhile.

An uncritical mad scientist doc.

While stewardship is one thing, complete control is another. Johnson’s experiment is the pinnacle -- or maybe the Frankenstein’s monster -- of a society obsessed with autonomy and personal agency.

It would be easy to dismiss the doc as a cash grab indulging society’s desire to gawk the eccentric. Yet, the sensationalized, ridiculous, and—interestingly enough—sometimes touching film inadvertently lends itself to a more significant conversation.

Don’t Die is fascinating as a piece of failed propaganda. No matter what Johnson does or how hard he works to sell what he’s doing as some act of biological disruption, he can’t conceal the sheer sadness... over what his life was and has become.