The Way
User Score
6.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 25
  3. Negative: 2 out of 25

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  1. mikewilliams
    Mar 21, 2013
    8
    Saw this on Netflix last week. Great movie, and Emilio Estevez does a superb job directing it. Martin Sheen is still pretty busy after all these years, and he's still a great actor. He's also doing a documentary show called Breakthroughs Martin Sheen that I've seen.

    The fact that "The Way" is a true story makes it even more emotional since you're actually invested in the characters sinc    e you know they're real people. I stayed engaged in it all the way through, and it's a really well done film. Great collaboration between the father (Martin Sheen) and the son (Emilio Estevez).… Collapse
  2. Chaseyo2
    Jul 13, 2012
    9
    absolutly great movie. it was both comical, dramatic, and interesting. martin did great at his role, and alot of the side characters (his friends) were terific. they were hilarious, and serious when it called for. this movie was a great one.
  3. NoahCoward
    Jun 26, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If the Barrymores or Fondas are the first family of acting, the Sheen/Estevez clan deserves serious consideration as the last.

    So little talent, so much overwrought grimacing and flat delivery. In "The Way", Martin Sheen adopts a new chipmunk style of acting, in which he speaks with tiny little mouth movements and takes little steps like an upright chipmunk. Occasionally, Emelio Estavez. - the supposed "brains" behind the project - appears on camera in hallucination sequences and adopts the same chipmunk style, creating a veritable Alvin and the Chipmunks effect as father and son trade engage in kind of a dueling chipmunk extravaganza.

    Sheen is an old grouch who goes on this stupid pilgrimage in search of a movie and presumably to help out Emelio's career. Too bad he doesn't run into Charley Sheen along the way but at the time he may have been off on his own "Torpedo of Truth" pilgrimage and thus unavailable.

    This is a bad movie although the photography and music are OK and apparently the real life Pilgrimage to Santiago is quite popular.    … Expand
  4. Hexteque
    May 10, 2012
    10
    I found this on Netflix Instant so I decided to end my night with this movie. It was a really good pick and I am glad I watched it. The scenery is nice and the characters really grew on me. Good ending as well. I would recommend to a friend or watch again which is the ultimate review.
  5. RobinsNest
    Apr 24, 2012
    5
    I wanted to really like this film. It is an admirable project underlying the actual relationship between the director and star. But it was cliched, predictable, and overly religious. The scene where Tom gets drunk is very poor and seems to be stuck in their so someplace in the 2 hour running time he gets to say how he really feels. Although I do not believe that what people say while drunk is the truth; just the opposite.The scene with the Gypsies once again looks stuck in so we get the message; it needs to be subtle.So the question becomes is it worth a look? It's right on the borderline between a B- and C+. The scenery is nice although there is not enough of it. The road could have been a character but it is trivialized. Plenty of loopholes: how does a man his age just do a 500 mile walk? Where are all the clothes stored? well, having read what I just wrote I can't recommend it. Nice try that falls short.… Expand
  6. RichieBoy
    Feb 25, 2012
    10
    Quite simply, one of the 10 best films of the year. Sheen and son provide a needed portrait of a man who seeks to honor his late son and discovers himself in the process.
    The religious aspects of this saga glide through the film without preaching. In the end it is about the human need for community. Whatever your beliefs may be, there is deep emotion and education throughout this adventur    e.
    The real life father and son invested in a union that few family members get to share and the reward is a gift to us all. This film never discovered a major audience, but it's elegant desire to reach beyond the self obsessed movie making of this era makes it a vital discovery.    … Expand
  7. FDT44
    Feb 11, 2012
    7
    "The Way" is a staunch film; it knows what its identity is, and it doesn't try to elude from it. How many films can one recall that set out to do the same? In doing so, Estevez has created an experience for the viewer that is blithesome in spirit, modest in bearings, and introspective in tone. Moreover, it doesn't appeal through flash; the actors act within their limits, its displays of pathos avoid brazen treacle, and the plodding itself, although lighter than it should be, results in a soul-quest that touches upon the faculties of regret, despair, loss, and spirituality without affectedly being as so, assuming a semblance to a pretentious sermon. Notwithstanding the cloud of predictability that is suspended above the filmâ… Expand
  8. Halfwelshman
    Dec 15, 2011
    8
    I must admit, when I started watching The Way, I questioned the necessity for a scripted narrative at all. I found the beginning a little soppy and melodramatic, and thought it might have been a more interesting film to watch if it were simply a documentary following the real-life Martin Sheen on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. But around halfway through the film, I found my self hooked, and completely immersed in this story of a father honouring his recently deceased son by completing the journey that killed him. Sheen's performance as the grieving Thomas Avery is utterly compelling, and the supporting cast of international actors all add something to the story and give the rag-tag group of pilgrims an interesting dynamic. The story is propelled along nicely by Emilio Estevez's fluid direction, and by a great eclectic soundtrack, and you're given plenty of time to ponder the characters' true motivations and the magnitude of the journey they are undertaking. Some of the plot points are a little jarring, doing little to advance the story, and you could argue that film goes on a little too long, but by the end of the film you really do feel like you've been on this amazing journey yourself. So just sit back and enjoy an incredibly well performed, emotional and personal piece of filmmaking, and take time to appreciate the breathtaking beauty of the Spanish countryside.… Expand
  9. Klumzy
    Dec 5, 2011
    9
    This movie started off a bit awkwardly in that the acting was a bit stiff and too put on, but once the tragic news came to Martin Sheens character, the acting and the story got more interesting and better. Overall the adventure, the supporting characters, the open European countryside makes the movie a really good watch.
  10. hoops2448
    Nov 20, 2011
    9
    Martin Sheen still has a commanding screen presence that The Way is a joy to watch. The best part of The Way is the idea that less is more. Some scenes provide such emotion without a single word being said with the end moments being especially satisfying. The story is of Tom (Martin Sheen), a optician who is quite content with his weekly golf games. However one day he receives a phone call from a police chief in France telling him his globetrotting son Daniel (Emilio Estevez) had been killed on the Camino de Santiago (The Way of St James). He immediately heads to France to identify the remains but while there decides to take Daniels ashes on the Camino. While on his journey he is joined by eternal optimist Joost, an overweight Dutchman(Yorick van Wageningen), A chain smoking Canadian (Deborah Kara Unger) and an Irish Writer with writers block (James Nesbitt). Despite the fact he wants to handle his grief in private he comes to learn he needs the others as much as they need him. Itâ… Expand
  11. 8486
    Nov 10, 2011
    5
    I love Martin Sheen and it is hard to be critical of him or Emelio...This is a decent effort, the film is well filmed and has a very genuine feel. However the message is simplistic and littered with clichés. (Witness the stock Irish writer character, played by James Hesbitt...) Some of the characterisation and some scenes are clumsey and not credible. The scenery is beautiful and this film will do a lot to promote The Camino The soundtrack was not bad but some of it jarred...Worth a look, for those looking for a little spirituality....… Expand
  12. CitizenCharlie
    Oct 20, 2011
    7
    Everyone has their own, personal reason for choosing to walk the real 500 mile Camino de Santiago. This is a trail which begins in France, winds its way through the French Pyrenees, across northern Spainâ
  13. Benarden
    Oct 13, 2011
    10
    This afternoon we went to see "The Way," All four of us found the film to be stunning. The scenery is breathtaking and the personal stories of both the protagonist and of the people he meets and travels with; and the adventures they encounter; - or generate; are wonderfully realized. It is a "road" story of the highest caliber. See it..

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
64 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 28
  3. Negative: 2 out of 28
  1. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    Nov 10, 2011
    75
    Unafraid of stillness and scenes of quiet contemplation, the film also celebrates companionship and community, which are all good reasons to embrace the experience along The Way.
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  2. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    Nov 3, 2011
    50
    The pilgrimage is still long but, even with the crosses they bear, these are pilgrims lite – perhaps it's the modern way.
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  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    Oct 20, 2011
    25
    With The Way, writer-director Emilio Estevez has made a respectable failure. What's respectable - and undeniable - is that this is a sincere effort to make a film of sensitivity and spiritual richness.
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