The Way Back

Name: The Way Back
Genre: Drama
Released: January 21, 2011
Duration: 133 min
Rating: 66
Cast: Colin Farrell, Ed Harris

2011

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 106 Ratings

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 106 Ratings

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The Way Back

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Movie Details & Credits

Newmarket Films | Release Date: January 21, 2011 | PG-13

Starring: Colin Farrell, Ed Harris

Summary: When they escape a Siberian labor camp in 1940 seven courageous multi-national prisoners discover the true meaning of friendship as their epic journey takes them across thousands of miles of hostile terrain en-route to India and their freedom. (Exclusive Media Group)

Director: Peter Weir

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 133 min

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Critic Reviews

Boxoffice Magazine Pete Hammond

Jan 19, 2011

A grueling, stunningly photographed story. Read full review

Mary Pols

Jan 24, 2011

The overall metaphor Weir was aiming for - this idea of enemies so powerful and a war so menacing and confusingly big that no place seems safe except a place absurdly far away - comes through clearly and stays with you. Read full review

Roger Moore

Jan 19, 2011

An entertaining old-fashioned prison escape movie with a touch of the epic about it. Read full review

Mike Scott

Jan 21, 2011

Part "The Great Escape" and part "Lawrence of Arabia, " Weir's epic The Way Back is ambitious in scope, grand in vision and rich with examples of the resilience of the human spirit. Read full review

Joe Williams

Jan 21, 2011

You would expect an epic with brains and hearts. Instead we settle for sturdy craft, with a stellar cast struggling to breathe life into the cold material. Read full review

Joshua Rothkopf

Jan 18, 2011

The Way Back then takes its time, creeping through gorgeous locations in Bulgaria, Morocco and Pakistan, and basically feeling like a two-hour-plus version of the desert scene from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Read full review

Peter Debruge

Jan 14, 2011

This arduous travelogue focuses on the macro (stunning, David Lean-like landscapes) and the micro (countless closeups of blistered flesh) to the virtual exclusion of compelling characters. Read full review

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User Reviews

Falling_Hammer

Jul 8, 2011

What would you do to survive? Would you become an animal that will do anything to survive or would there still be some humanity left in you? Would you rely on good will of other people or would you just look after yourself? Would you be ruthless, merciless, without any sympathy to otherWhat would you do to survive? Would you become an animal that will do anything to survive or would there still be some humanity left in you? Would you rely on good will of other people or would you just look after yourself? Would you be ruthless, merciless, without any sympathy to other beings or would you show mercy, offer shelter, give food even if you know that it will lead to your death? This is a film that brings out these questions and let's you answer them for yourself. A gripping film with good acting and in my opinion one of better film that have came out this year.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

pandateddybear

Apr 23, 2011

Really enjoyed it.. Great adventure and very entertaining great performance by great actors. Great pictures and bluray version looks great! highly recommended!

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

mittalraman01

Jan 23, 2011

Movie was pretty entertaining and involving. There is no proof of the story being a fact and true history. Peter Weir has done a great job in this regard.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

worleyjamers

Dec 8, 2012

One of the those 2010 films that came out really early in the next year. A lot of people missed it for that reason, but it's a really great film. Well done, beautiful locations. One of the most underrated films of 2010.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

KarthXLR

Jan 22, 2011

It's a prison escape film with all the interesting characters removed to make way for the grand visuals and experience of traveling 4000 miles. Very entertaining, but not perfect in the slightest.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

NYHawk808

Dec 11, 2014

Beautiful visuals and a great cast but the connections aren't well developed or even fully explored between the characters and the audience or between the characters themselves. Saoirse Ronan adds an element of life to the group that was badly needed but never manages to pull the groupBeautiful visuals and a great cast but the connections aren't well developed or even fully explored between the characters and the audience or between the characters themselves. Saoirse Ronan adds an element of life to the group that was badly needed but never manages to pull the group together in a way that I could find satisfying. Difficult scenes like the escape from the Siberian camp were done entirely too briskly in favor of more long, drawn out travel scenes which still don't use the time to effectively connect you to the cast. Worth watching but clearly a film that could have been much more.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

tonyGreen

Nov 9, 2018

Well obviously it has a few pretty vistas. But **** me it has a serious axe to grind. Unending polemic dialogue and exposition. **** off with this ****

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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