The "sad middle-aged drunk" phase of Affleck's career is truly a joy to watch. No one does this better than him.

ben affleck this whole movie be like: 🎵 hello darkness my old friend 🎵

Better on the second watch. We need more sports dramas like this one.

For my taste this was too much basketball and not enough drinking. But when these movies are as sturdy as this one is, they can be quite the tonic.

was hoping for a bit more detail in the writing here than simply serious, sadboi Bad News Bears but it mostly works and i really do respect that there's no grand gesture to affleck's performance. the impulse towards larger significance must be so tempting but he correctly calibrates himself for a simple beaten, resigned intimacy; a natural expression of self-loathing that eventually bleeds into atonement as he lumbers around in self-imposed hurt and frustration. the sweating, the beard, the way he carries himself through a room, the way he trades between the can and the cigarette with the same hand. it's all there

Aside from a couple of trite elements that typically hold this one back slightly, The Way Back is a mostly compelling & thoroughly engaging sports drama that efficiently handles its well-known subject matter quite well here.

The film is suitably led by Ben Affleck who no doubt gives it his all here as a struggling alcoholic, and his authentic performance in this is what reasonably holds The Way Back altogether as it definitely is powerfully resonant in many effective ways.

The supporting cast in this was excellent as well even if they weren't exactly front & center as Affleck's character was, but the basketball game sequences between the team & the team meet-ups themselves were also rather top-notch & approached properly, too.

definitely the most shower beers i've ever seen a movie character drink

‪THE WAY BACK might as well be called “Manchester On The Court” for this basketball sports drama features a career-best performance from Ben Affleck that is very much like his brother’s Oscar winning work. Reserved, tortured & deeply personal. Movie is fine but he’s incredible!‬

My full review

Ben Affleck pra sempre.

Finally,it was so heartwarming to see Ben Affleck play a role that is realistic and he makes every use of the opportunity.His weathered face in itself speaks volumes.

Gavin O’Connor bad filmmaker. And one of the most overbearing scores I can remember. TV movie fodder but bearded Ben is really compelling.

Reteaming Ben Affleck and The Accountant director Gavin O'Connor, this is a pretty generic sports-redemption movie elevated by Affleck's fantastic turn as a bereaved, alcoholic former basketball player pressed into coaching a Catholic school team.

Affleck's own history with addiction clearly plays into his sensitive portrayal. Also, given the last time Affleck played a basketball player, I assume this film shares a universe with the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Great basketball movie about someone who had it all. Very motivational and realistic. It’s not like a High school musical basketball movie. It teaches you about the game and shows the stress and hard work to be good.

Seeing a title like The Way Back and discovering the film is about a trauma-ridden alcoholic ex-basketball champ being coaxed into coaching his old school’s basketball team, one could easily map out the major beats the movie hits. While I’m not sure if “sports movie as analogy for broken character finding purpose again” is a genre per se, The Way Back is a pretty decent example of such, both thanks to the film’s tight focus on the character of Jack (the b-ball team are all firmly supporting characters here) and Ben Affleck’s perfect casting as that person. Affleck can play asshole with a heart of gold like no other, and carries the movie through every predictable moment (and some less predictable ones). Sports films do have a built-in structure, and that’s part of what makes them so satisfying, and—in their own way—healing.

It is an enigmatic but welcome entry to the sports drama genre that creates characters we can at least understand, if not care about, without having to be a lunk for the sport of choice. It’s got the Disney-style sport practice montages and slow-mo buzzer beaters, but it’s also injected with a troubling undercurrent that goes beyond the PG stuff. At times maybe trying too hard with a tertiary plot here or there and an unnecessarily ominous score, the beating black heart of this story is never lost, and although the film ends abruptly, a cathartic and cautionary tale about grief, loss, and addiction emerges after watching that is sure to satisfy.

Soy consciente de que pelis deportivas de este tipo existen a patadas pero a diferencia del resto aquí veo honestidad y verdad y eso como espectador me emociona. Ben Affleck está inmenso, maravilloso. Peli narrada con mucha sensibilidad.

A really hopeful film that I found captivating. A small focused story, great acting, and a distinct soundtrack combines nicely.