At 4,000 miles covered, The Way Back is a good sight longer than a Wainwright walk, and it's certainly more exhausting.

| Original Score: 2/5 | May 7, 2024

Weir and Clarke seem so swept away by the astounding concept of the story that they forget to attach a dramatic resonance to it, and the personal dramas that do occur […] feel diminutive next to the film’s vistas.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 3, 2023

A grand spectacle. [Full review in Spanish]

| Aug 9, 2022

For the sheer art of true moviemaking at its old school finest, it's impossible to not recommend viewing The Way Back.

| Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 26, 2020

An endurance test for both the characters and the audience, and I mean that as a compliment.

| Original Score: B | Aug 11, 2020

A majestic and powerful film. A triumph of the human spirit.

| Nov 16, 2019

The Way Back is a hefty cinematic experience set against the vast vistas of history that may not have you cheering on its heroes at every turn, but that will enthrall you in their epic journey nonetheless.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 6, 2018

It's about the landscapes and backdrops. They provide a great diversion away from the poor dialogue and the bluntly heroic characters.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 6, 2018

I had no reason to care. And their spiritual journeys are as predictable as they are pat... It's all voyage at the expense of the voyagers, so lacks any moral power.

| Aug 30, 2018

... a placid, almost pleasant film, so reluctant to offend that it fails to engage.

| Feb 8, 2018

[Peter] Weir is marvelously attuned to the natural world but keeps the focus on the human story while acknowledging the power of the natural world, not hostile so much as inhospitable...

| Aug 21, 2016

The man-versus-the-natural world story is in Weir's wheelhouse, and Harris and Farrell get into a scene-stealing duel. Worth the trek.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 12, 2016

A gorgeously mounted epic that for all its virtues feels maddeningly remote.

Full Review | May 3, 2015

The Way Back is an inspiring story that is beautifully photographed and full of interesting and well acted characters.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 24, 2013

Like its characters, this drama plods along but its compelling plot makes it worth seeing.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 30, 2013

"The Way Back" is a boring movie. Repetitive, protracted and wearisome. Mostly, though: It's just long.

| Original Score: C | Jun 22, 2013

a solid, resonant meditation on survival, on hope, on the value of life in the face of implacable hostility, portrayed memorably by an excellent cast and [Director] Weir's vast, brutal, awe-inspiring landscapes

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Feb 16, 2013

Script-wise, there is nothing truly revelatory here, but the patient viewer will be rewarded by a film of unique awe and heart wrenching wonder.

| Original Score: B | May 12, 2011

However, among solid performances, beautiful locations, and a truly harrowing journey, this film left me feeling empty.

| Original Score: 2/5 | May 6, 2011

It's unfortunate that Peter Weir's first film in seven years, although a remarkable story, by its very nature risks tediousness.

| Apr 16, 2011