You can find some drama and a little bit of basketball.
The Way Back came out on Blu-ray and DVD on May 19. It is also on Digital. On April 14, the film was even made available on Video on Demand services at home.
THE WAY BACK
The release of The Way Back was not a typical one. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie only lasted about 14 days in theatres before everything shut down. The film managed just $14 million worldwide.
On the flip side, the Rotten Tomatoes score went to 84% on the Tomatometer. It is enough for a ‘Certified Fresh.’
Academy Award Winner Ben Affleck stars along with Al Madrigal, Michaela Watkins, Janina Gavankar, Glynn Turman, Brandon Wilson, Will Ropp, Charles Lott Jr and Melvin Gregg.
Gavin O’Connor directed - who also directed Affleck in The Accountant. Brad Ingelsby wrote the movie.
The Way Back is rated R for language throughout, including sexual references.
TAKE
Would I buy this film? I’d make it a rainy day selection.
Are there more exciting movies? Sure.
Are there better basketball movies? Probably.
But I’d say the reason to watch The Way Back is Ben Affleck. There are maybe two or three little scenes that don’t include him, but otherwise, he carries the movie.
Jack Cunningham is an alcoholic. (Affleck has admitted that he has been one in real life. I’d say points for him for even taking the role.) Cunningham drinks at work, on the drive home and drinks in the shower. He even empties an entire fridge filled with beer, debating about a phone call.
Cunningham was a basketball phenom in high school, but those days are long gone. One day comes, and he is asked to coach the struggling basketball team at the very school he played. He eventually accepts the position.
Those are pretty much the two main story points. It doesn’t get too complicated. You follow Cunningham’s journey and his time with the players and his struggles over 108 minutes.
There’s even a reason he drinks so much. But it’s about an hour before the pieces fall into place.
The basketball scenes will probably feel familiar from any other sports movie that you have seen. The team is on a huge losing streak, so can they eventually get just that one win?
(But the basketball stuff also did not end the way I thought it would. There is no big championship game highlighted.)
And maybe. Just maybe. Cunningham can find The Way Back.
SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW
The DVD contains only Every Loss is Another Fight: The Road to Redemption. Overall, relatively short features compared to other Blu-ray and DVD sets.
Every Loss is Another Fight: The Road to Redemption (5 minutes, 22 seconds)
- Ben Affleck called the movie, ‘personally satisfying’ for him. The talk of being an alcoholic and the demons involved. The road to recovery and redemption may not always be perfect.
The Way Back: This Sporting Life (5 minutes, 25 seconds.)
- The talk of the positiveness of sports movies and what the entails, really.
Weaknesses may be considered strengths, how the players see a coach, etc.
Warner Brothers Home Entertainment
