The Way Back is an American sports film directed by Gavin O’Connor. The plot follows Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck), a basketball player who turned to drink after his child died, now he is resigned to drink himself to death. That is until one day his old high school ask him to coach their basketball team, after their old coach unexpectedly retires, this gives him a reason to carry on.
This is a very generic film, there have been, are and will be so many other sports dramas that follow this same plot outline. A has been who has personal problems, coming back from obscurity to help the next generation. The plot did nothing for me as I already knew where it was going.
However, though the plot is generic Ben Affleck saves this film and elevates it far beyond what it would be otherwise. Ben Affleck’s performance here might be one of the best of the year, he plays the broken man who has given up so well; it is frightening how convincing he is. Obviously, he is drawing on his heavily publicised substance abuse battles, for this role and you can tell that, and it really adds to the performance.
Overall, the film really isn’t anything special, you have seen it countless times before, but you haven’t seen Affleck this raw and vulnerable and it is worth a watch for that alone. Affleck really does save this film.
Pros.
Ben Affleck and his raw performance
The feel-good story
How well Ben Affleck sells the character and his journey
Cons.
The plot is very generic
You know exactly what is going to happen
2/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 
To funny, I hated , my partner loved it!!! Noice 🤘🏼🤘🏼
Jim Evans Host and co-creator Film Rage podcast 🎥 Feel the rage! https://www.filmrageyyc.com/
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