Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 1174
RT slug: the_way_back
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_way_back
Release year: 2011
Runtime: 133 mins
Wide release date: —
Limited release date: 2011-01-21
Festival premiere date: —
Streaming release date: 2011-10-17
Tomatometer final: 73%
Audience score final: 72%
Genres: Drama
Directors: Peter Weir
Writers: —
Producers: Duncan Henderson, Joni Levin, Nigel Sinclair
MPAA rating: PG-13
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-08-15 12:42:44
Updated: 2026-08-15 12:42:44
Denounced by his wife as a possible spy in 1939, Janusz (Jim Sturgess) finds himself in a remote Siberian labor camp. Faced with brutal conditions inside and out, Janusz is determined to escape. A blizzard provides him with the perfect opportunity, and he and a small group of fellow prisoners make a break for it. Escape, however, is the easy part, for Janusz and his companions face a 4,000-mile trek on foot through the frozen Himalayas before they can truly be free.
It isn't as emotionally involving as it should be, but this Peter Weir epic offers sweeping ambition and strong performances to go with its grand visual spectacle.
Canonical reviews: 137
Canonical fresh: 100
Canonical rotten: 37
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 73%
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-08-15 11:22:37
Snapshot Tomatometer: 73%
Snapshot review count: 137
Snapshot fresh count: 100
Snapshot rotten count: 37
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #2808 (full_snapshot)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Newmarket Film Group | distributor |
| Exclusive Films | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Sturgess | Janusz |
| 2 | Ed Harris | Mr. Smith |
| 3 | Colin Farrell | Valka |
| 4 | Saoirse Ronan | Irina |
| 5 | Mark Strong | Khabarov |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1190 | processed | — | 2026-08-15 12:42:44 | Processed successfully into movie_id=1174 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2808 | 2026-08-15 06:22:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-08-15 11:22:37 | 73% | 137 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 137 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=137, fresh=100, rotten=37, tomatometer=73%. Net new reviews added=137, fresh=100, rotten=37. Current canonical totals=137 reviews, 100 fresh, 37 rotten, tomatometer=73% (72.993%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (137). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (73%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 244349 | Michael Leader | Den of Geek | Rotten | 2/5 | 2024-05-07T20:43:07.000Z | 2024-05-07 20:43:07 | At 4,000 miles covered, The Way Back is a good sight longer than a Wainwright walk, and it's certainly more exhausting. |
| 244350 | Brian Eggert | Deep Focus Review | Rotten | 2/4 | 2023-08-03T01:27:26.000Z | 2023-08-03 01:27:26 | 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. |
| 244351 | Rene Jordan | El Nuevo Herald (Miami) | Fresh | — | 2022-08-09T19:29:01.000Z | 2022-08-09 19:29:01 | A grand spectacle. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 244352 | Richard Propes | TheIndependentCritic.com | Fresh | 3.5/4.0 | 2020-09-26T22:51:23.000Z | 2020-09-26 22:51:23 | For the sheer art of true moviemaking at its old school finest, it's impossible to not recommend viewing The Way Back. |
| 244353 | Allen Almachar | The MacGuffin | Fresh | B | 2020-08-11T16:31:52.000Z | 2020-08-11 16:31:52 | An endurance test for both the characters and the audience, and I mean that as a compliment. |
| 244354 | Debbie Lynn Elias | Behind The Lens | Fresh | — | 2019-11-16T02:33:00.000Z | 2019-11-16 02:33:00 | A majestic and powerful film. A triumph of the human spirit. |
| 244355 | Matthew Migliorini | CineVue | Fresh | 3/5 | 2018-11-06T21:52:29.000Z | 2018-11-06 21:52:29 | 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. |
| 244356 | Kaleem Aftab | The List | Rotten | 3/5 | 2018-11-06T00:40:13.000Z | 2018-11-06 00:40:13 | It's about the landscapes and backdrops. They provide a great diversion away from the poor dialogue and the bluntly heroic characters. |
| 244357 | Deborah Ross | The Spectator | Rotten | — | 2018-08-30T20:46:13.000Z | 2018-08-30 20:46:13 | 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. |
| 244358 | Jennie Yabroff | Newsweek | Rotten | — | 2018-02-08T00:21:45.000Z | 2018-02-08 00:21:45 | ... a placid, almost pleasant film, so reluctant to offend that it fails to engage. |
| 244359 | Sean Axmaker | Seanax.com | Fresh | — | 2016-08-21T18:30:52.000Z | 2016-08-21 18:30:52 | [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... |
| 244360 | Joe Neumaier | New York Daily News | Fresh | 4/4 | 2016-04-12T16:47:36.000Z | 2016-04-12 16:47:36 | 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. |
| 244361 | Sean Burns | Philadelphia Weekly | Rotten | — | 2015-05-03T07:37:20.000Z | 2015-05-03 07:37:20 | A gorgeously mounted epic that for all its virtues feels maddeningly remote. |
| 244362 | Amy Curtis | We Got This Covered | Fresh | 8/10 | 2013-07-24T19:39:57.000Z | 2013-07-24 19:39:57 | The Way Back is an inspiring story that is beautifully photographed and full of interesting and well acted characters. |
| 244363 | John Hanlon | Big Hollywood | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2013-06-30T16:20:28.000Z | 2013-06-30 16:20:28 | Like its characters, this drama plods along but its compelling plot makes it worth seeing. |
| 244364 | Will Leitch | Deadspin | Rotten | C | 2013-06-22T18:54:25.000Z | 2013-06-22 18:54:25 | "The Way Back" is a boring movie. Repetitive, protracted and wearisome. Mostly, though: It's just long. |
| 244365 | Jay Antani | Cinema Writer | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2013-02-16T15:28:12.000Z | 2013-02-16 15:28:12 | 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 |
| 244366 | Bruce Bennett | Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | Fresh | B | 2011-05-12T11:00:17.000Z | 2011-05-12 11:00:17 | 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. |
| 244367 | Grae Drake | Movies.com | Rotten | 2/5 | 2011-05-06T05:15:33.000Z | 2011-05-06 05:15:33 | However, among solid performances, beautiful locations, and a truly harrowing journey, this film left me feeling empty. |
| 244368 | Annlee Ellingson | Moving Pictures Magazine | Rotten | — | 2011-04-16T11:24:05.000Z | 2011-04-16 11:24:05 | It's unfortunate that Peter Weir's first film in seven years, although a remarkable story, by its very nature risks tediousness. |
| 244369 | Dave White | Movies.com | Fresh | 3/5 | 2011-04-04T13:33:31.000Z | 2011-04-04 13:33:31 | This is a perfect example of the well-made (from acclaimed director Peter Weir), well-acted and well-everything-elsed film that you watch, admire and then hope to never lay eyes on again. |
| 244370 | Fernando F. Croce | CinePassion | Rotten | — | 2011-03-14T09:48:34.000Z | 2011-03-14 09:48:34 | Screen-saver metaphysics |
| 244371 | Marc Fennell | Triple J | Fresh | 3/5 | 2011-03-07T16:19:12.000Z | 2011-03-07 16:19:12 | There is a limit to how many times one human can watch toothless, malnourished men stumble around the desert bitching about communism and a lack of borscht. |
| 244372 | Jim Schembri | The Age (Australia) | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2011-03-05T17:13:58.000Z | 2011-03-05 17:13:58 | An exceptional adventure story from one of the founding fathers of Australia's modern cinema. |
| 244373 | Rob Thomas | Capital Times (Madison, WI) | Fresh | 3/4 | 2011-03-04T11:01:19.000Z | 2011-03-04 11:01:19 | It may not seem like much of a compliment to say a movie makes you feel like you've walked 4,000 miles, but "The Way Back" puts you in its characters' tattered shoes and makes you care whether they make it home or not. |
| 244374 | David Stratton | At the Movies (Australia) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2011-02-24T13:53:54.000Z | 2011-02-24 13:53:54 | Visually, as with all Peter Weir's films, this is really outstanding and really quite memorable. |
| 244375 | Margaret Pomeranz | At the Movies (Australia) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2011-02-24T13:52:53.000Z | 2011-02-24 13:52:53 | It's an uncompromising film, necessarily episodic in its depiction of the group's quest for survival, but mesmerizingly involving. |
| 244376 | Beth Wilson | Trespass | Rotten | — | 2011-02-24T13:51:29.000Z | 2011-02-24 13:51:29 | The characters are so underdeveloped that there exists no real relationship between them on screen or in fact between characters and the audience. |
| 244377 | Joseph Proimakis | Movies for the Masses | Rotten | 2/5 | 2011-02-24T07:31:20.000Z | 2011-02-24 07:31:20 | full review at Movies for the Masses |
| 244378 | Don Groves | sbs.com.au | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2011-02-22T19:18:07.000Z | 2011-02-22 19:18:07 | A great escape leads to a harrowing test of endurance. |
| 244379 | Mark Demetrius | FILMINK (Australia) | Rotten | — | 2011-02-22T11:44:17.000Z | 2011-02-22 11:44:17 | Despite an epic premise and the fine talent involved, the characters are under-written and the drama never soars. |
| 244380 | Glynn Morgan | Moviedex | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2011-02-22T00:46:29.000Z | 2011-02-22 00:46:29 | As dreary as the film is, it draws you in with its captivating, yet sober, cinematography and the solid performances of the cast. |
| 244381 | Andrew L. Urban | Urban Cinefile | Fresh | — | 2011-02-21T00:49:09.000Z | 2011-02-21 00:49:09 | It's not the sort of prison escape movie that Hollywood makes these days: it's more subtle, more moody, more restrained and it has no histrionics |
| 244382 | Louise Keller | Urban Cinefile | Fresh | — | 2011-02-21T00:48:21.000Z | 2011-02-21 00:48:21 | ..extreme challenge of human endeavour that ends with an overwhelming flush of emotion |
| 244383 | Alice Tynan | Concrete Playground | Fresh | — | 2011-02-20T19:51:30.000Z | 2011-02-20 19:51:30 | A beautifully hewn, honest and courageous film. It's Man Vs. Wild, for real. |
| 244384 | Tim Martain | The Mercury (Australia) | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2011-02-20T14:15:34.000Z | 2011-02-20 14:15:34 | The Way Back is an epic adventure with enough humour to keep it from feeling dour but enough realism to make it really feel like everything is at stake. |
| 244385 | Rafer Guzman | Newsday | Fresh | — | 2011-02-18T05:15:19.000Z | 2011-02-18 05:15:19 | Weir has always loved atmospheric locales and group dynamics, and here he makes the most of both |
| 244386 | Linda Cook | KWQC-TV (Iowa) | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2011-02-12T22:36:58.000Z | 2011-02-12 22:36:58 | This incredible adventure, with outstanding cinematography and amazing locations, just may be based on a true story. Then again, it may not. |
| 244387 | Neil Rosen | NY1-TV | Fresh | — | 2011-02-06T05:16:09.000Z | 2011-02-06 05:16:09 | Weir has made an admirable work, but he should have created more interaction amongst his characters. |
| 244388 | Eric D. Snider | Film.com | Fresh | B- | 2011-02-03T22:17:19.000Z | 2011-02-03 22:17:19 | Eventually the film itself is something of an endurance test, and not as rewarding as it hopes to be. But it's a worthy venture, earnest and well-produced and occasionally gripping. |
| 244389 | Mike Scott | Times-Picayune | Fresh | 3/4 | 2011-01-31T13:46:35.000Z | 2011-01-31 13:46:35 | Part The Great Escape and part Lawrence of Arabia, it is ambitious in scope, grand in vision and rich with examples of the resilience of the human spirit. |
| 244390 | Anthony Lane | The New Yorker | Rotten | — | 2011-01-31T06:59:48.000Z | 2011-01-31 06:59:48 | The abiding sensation, at the end, is one not of fulfillment but of exhaustion. |
| 244392 | Joe Williams | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2011-01-31T05:15:24.000Z | 2011-01-31 05:15:24 | he long stretches between stations make The Way Back an arduous road. |
| 244391 | Rene Rodriguez | Miami Herald | Rotten | 2/4 | 2011-01-31T05:15:24.000Z | 2011-01-31 05:15:24 | This is an impressive production and technical feat, but through most of it, I kept thinking about how difficult the filming conditions must have been, and not about the lives of the men in front of me. |
| 244393 | Christopher Smith | Bangor Daily News (Maine) | Fresh | B+ | 2011-01-30T12:09:30.000Z | 2011-01-30 12:09:30 | Rife with uncertainty and realism, Weir's film is a stunning testament to human fortitude and to the power of Mother Nature. |
| 244394 | Christy Lemire | Associated Press | Rotten | — | 2011-01-28T11:03:23.000Z | 2011-01-28 11:03:23 | The Way Back represents an exquisite example of style over substance, of vast visuals dwarfing the characters and nearly swallowing the story whole. |
| 244395 | Marc Savlov | Austin Chronicle | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2011-01-28T11:02:32.000Z | 2011-01-28 11:02:32 | The Way Back fails to connect on the all-important visceral, emotional level. |
| 244396 | Frank Swietek | One Guy's Opinion | Fresh | B | 2011-01-27T09:22:59.000Z | 2011-01-27 09:22:59 | Elevates what might have been an adolescent adventure story...with good taste, high-mindedness and elegence, even if the result is just a bit prosaic and emotionally detached. |
| 244397 | Jackie K. Cooper | jackiekcooper.com | Fresh | 6/10 | 2011-01-25T17:55:23.000Z | 2011-01-25 17:55:23 | A testament to the determination of the human spirit but the characters are fairly indistinguishable and the plot is just one foot in front of another |
| 244398 | Jeffrey M. Anderson | Common Sense Media | Fresh | 3/5 | 2011-01-25T13:22:33.000Z | 2011-01-25 13:22:33 | Peter Weir makes this wartime tale a sleek, rousing, old-fashioned adventure instead of a somber, self-important epic slog. |
| 244399 | Ron Wilkinson | Monsters and Critics | Fresh | 8/10 | 2011-01-24T17:19:14.000Z | 2011-01-24 17:19:14 | The current reigning top of the heap tribute to the human spirit. |
| 244400 | Ignatiy Vishnevetsky | Ebert Presents At The Movies | Fresh | — | 2011-01-24T16:05:31.000Z | 2011-01-24 16:05:31 | The Way Back is smartly-made, carefully-paced adventure movie. It goes where many other films have gone before, but it never feels like it's just going through the motions. |
| 244401 | Kelly Vance | East Bay Express | Fresh | — | 2011-01-24T15:12:40.000Z | 2011-01-24 15:12:40 | A splendidly roughhouse yarn. |
| 244402 | Cole Smithey | ColeSmithey.com | Fresh | A | 2011-01-23T21:34:15.000Z | 2011-01-23 21:34:15 | Freedom proves to be a very delicate value, and a very exacting reality. This is not a film to approach lightly. |
| 244403 | David Kaplan | Kaplan vs. Kaplan | Rotten | — | 2011-01-22T15:06:02.000Z | 2011-01-22 15:06:02 | Indeed, when three of the men finally set foot on Indian soil, there is an underwhelming sense of achievement by the audience. |
| 244404 | Peter Rainer | Christian Science Monitor | Fresh | B | 2011-01-22T05:15:09.000Z | 2011-01-22 05:15:09 | The result is a film that seems simultaneously grand and skimpy. For all its faults, it's an honorable effort, though. I hope Weir doesn't wait seven more years for his next film. |
| 244405 | Unknown Critic | National Post | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2011-01-22T05:15:08.000Z | 2011-01-22 05:15:08 | — |
| 244406 | Ethan Alter | NYC Film Critic | Fresh | 3/4 | 2011-01-21T20:15:55.000Z | 2011-01-21 20:15:55 | It's a visually arresting adventure, but it arrives at its final destination with little dramatic resonance. |
| 244407 | Sara Michelle Fetters | MovieFreak.com | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2011-01-21T19:47:15.000Z | 2011-01-21 19:47:15 | Much like the group it chronicles the movie never relents, never stops and, more importantly, never gives up. It keeps moving forward, forward, forward, refusing to back down or give in no matter what sort of hardship or tragedy pops up along the way. |
| 244408 | Tony Medley | Tolucan Times | Fresh | 8/10 | 2011-01-21T15:23:20.000Z | 2011-01-21 15:23:20 | ...a fine adventure story with breathtaking cinematography of magnificent landscapes. |
| 244409 | Ian Buckwalter | NPR.org | Fresh | 5.9/10 | 2011-01-21T14:26:26.000Z | 2011-01-21 14:26:26 | There's an enjoyably old-fashioned brand of adventure at work here, when Weir doesn't handcuff himself with Red scare politics and maudlin sentimentality. The former outweighs the latter, but only just barely. |
| 244410 | Rick Groen | Globe and Mail | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2011-01-21T12:59:06.000Z | 2011-01-21 12:59:06 | The Way Back is fascinating until it becomes an ordeal. |
| 244411 | Liz Braun | Jam! Movies | Fresh | 3/5 | 2011-01-21T11:52:16.000Z | 2011-01-21 11:52:16 | You'll forget the whole picture the minute you leave the theatre, but for the two hours you're sitting there in the dark, it's mildly, and pleasantly engaging. |
| 244412 | John Beifuss | Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | Rotten | 2/4 | 2011-01-21T08:45:57.000Z | 2011-01-21 08:45:57 | Humanity is dwarfed by landscape, but the effect is more pictorial than revealing. |
| 244413 | Nora Lee Mandel | Film-Forward.com | Fresh | 8/10 | 2011-01-21T08:00:38.000Z | 2011-01-21 08:00:38 | [E]xcruciatingly punishes impressive international ensemble. [U]npredictable who will make it through each challenge [that] brings human perspective to a large continent. |
| 244414 | Margot Harrison | Seven Days (VT) | Fresh | 6/10 | 2011-01-21T06:53:55.000Z | 2011-01-21 06:53:55 | Weir and cowriter Keith R. Clarke resist the temptation to add Hollywood happy endings to Rawicz's story. |
| 244416 | Chris Bumbray | JoBlo's Movie Network | Fresh | 9/10 | 2011-01-21T05:15:12.000Z | 2011-01-21 05:15:12 | At times it's grueling, and even difficult to watch, but it's a remarkably powerful film. |
| 244415 | Jason Anderson | eye WEEKLY | Fresh | 3/5 | 2011-01-21T05:15:12.000Z | 2011-01-21 05:15:12 | Just as admirable are the film's unsparing depiction of the hardships caused by terrain and temperature, its palpable sense of physicality and a lack of sentimentality compared to most of Hollywood's similarly inspirational profiles in courage. |
| 244417 | Willie Waffle | WaffleMovies.com | Rotten | 0/4 | 2011-01-21T04:59:53.000Z | 2011-01-21 04:59:53 | As they walk through the desert, I was hoping a pack of wild, rabid camels would attack them and eat them to get this movie over with. |
| 244418 | Chris Hewitt | St. Paul Pioneer Press | Fresh | 3/4 | 2011-01-21T04:45:07.000Z | 2011-01-21 04:45:07 | "The Way Back" seems like it could have been made 40 or 50 years ago, and I mean that in a good way. |
| 244419 | Mary F. Pols | TIME Magazine | Fresh | — | 2011-01-21T04:43:07.000Z | 2011-01-21 04:43:07 | 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. |
| 244420 | Kyle Smith | New York Post | Fresh | 3/4 | 2011-01-21T04:34:25.000Z | 2011-01-21 04:34:25 | The film largely misses its opportunities to reflect the enormity of communism, choosing instead the route of a conventional adventure yarn. |
| 244421 | James Verniere | Boston Herald | Fresh | A- | 2011-01-21T04:32:13.000Z | 2011-01-21 04:32:13 | At its heart, it's an adventure story and exotic travelogue, inviting viewers to tag along as an unlikely band of fugitives from a Siberian gulag walk across the Himalayas. |
| 244422 | Dan Kois | Washington Post | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2011-01-21T04:06:44.000Z | 2011-01-21 04:06:44 | Weir's movie is superbly made, but its fancy-dancing around history gives a hint of inauthenticity to a film that otherwise thrives on its reverence for historical detail. |
| 244423 | Manohla Dargis | New York Times | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2011-01-20T18:58:51.000Z | 2011-01-20 18:58:51 | It's impossible not to cry at their suffering, but whether you'll feel anything is another story. |
| 244424 | Claudia Puig | USA Today | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2011-01-20T18:27:27.000Z | 2011-01-20 18:27:27 | There are exhilarating moments, and there are some undeniably tense scenes. Mixed in, however, is possibly more trudging than you're going to see in any other film. |
| 244425 | Mick LaSalle | San Francisco Chronicle | Fresh | 3/4 | 2011-01-20T17:56:12.000Z | 2011-01-20 17:56:12 | Whether it's true or not, this portrait of desperate, determined people surviving blizzards and dust storms and crossing mountains and deserts is a gruff and uplifting celebration of how much people can take and how much they value freedom. |
| 244426 | Robert W. Butler | Kansas City Star | Fresh | 3/4 | 2011-01-20T16:51:01.000Z | 2011-01-20 16:51:01 | The Way Back works well enough as a sprawling adventure of unimaginable hardship. The rugged vistas (it was filmed in Bulgaria, India and Morocco) are impressive. But it feels just a bit underpopulated. |
| 244427 | Shawn Levy | Oregonian | Fresh | B | 2011-01-20T16:02:49.000Z | 2011-01-20 16:02:49 | The film is long and deliberate and slow of pulse -- quite appropriately. But Weir is a real filmmaker, and he handles vast landscapes and delicate death scenes with equal doses of invention, vitality, dignity and taste. |
| 244428 | Peter Howell | Toronto Star | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2011-01-20T15:53:04.000Z | 2011-01-20 15:53:04 | Despite a strong cast that includes Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell and Saoirse Ronan, we never really get to know any of the sloggers. |
| 244429 | Peter Travers | Rolling Stone | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2011-01-20T15:47:54.000Z | 2011-01-20 15:47:54 | This artful tale of survival against the elements - radiating terror and beauty - continues Peter Weir's fascination with characters trapped by worlds they didn't make. |
| 244430 | Joe Morgenstern | Wall Street Journal | Rotten | — | 2011-01-20T15:41:16.000Z | 2011-01-20 15:41:16 | How many new ways can you dramatize icy gales, parched deserts, agonizing thirst, shimmering mirages? And how do you step up the pace of a story that's about people walking? |
| 244431 | Kurt Loder | Reason Online | Fresh | — | 2011-01-20T15:37:28.000Z | 2011-01-20 15:37:28 | By the time the four survivors finally arrive in warm and welcoming India, our relief exceeds their own. |
| 244432 | Duane Dudek | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2011-01-20T15:27:35.000Z | 2011-01-20 15:27:35 | The gulag scenes also are vividly sketched. Sadly, the personal dramas often feel stock and static by comparison. |
| 244433 | Moira MacDonald | Seattle Times | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2011-01-20T15:17:06.000Z | 2011-01-20 15:17:06 | This doesn't sound like a lot of fun to watch, but Weir - in his first movie since 2003's "Master and Commander" - makes it mesmerizing and occasionally lyrical. |
| 244434 | Mary Ann Brussat | Spirituality & Practice | Fresh | 3/5 | 2011-01-20T15:12:43.000Z | 2011-01-20 15:12:43 | A World War II prison break, survival, and morality tale about the power of forgiveness as an ideal to animate a lifetime. |
| 244435 | Carrie Rickey | Philadelphia Inquirer | Fresh | 3/4 | 2011-01-20T15:07:50.000Z | 2011-01-20 15:07:50 | Whether it is truth, fiction or, most likely, a little of each, the story Weir tells is a powerful parable of man's charge for freedom and his humbling by nature. |
| 244436 | Ty Burr | Boston Globe | Fresh | 3/4 | 2011-01-20T14:48:18.000Z | 2011-01-20 14:48:18 | The movie's grueling, inspiring, astonishing to look at. You come out feeling you've traveled half the planet. As ordeal movies go, though, this one's oddly easy to shake off. |
| 244437 | Nathan Rabin | AV Club | Fresh | B | 2011-01-20T12:59:05.000Z | 2011-01-20 12:59:05 | Well-acted and artfully (though conventionally) made, The Way Back tells a compelling story, regardless of whether it's based on truth or a fabrication. |
| 244438 | Gary Thompson | Philadelphia Daily News | Fresh | B- | 2011-01-20T12:01:04.000Z | 2011-01-20 12:01:04 | A two-hour-plus epic of survival and endurance that stretches six characters and a few patches of terse dialogue over 140 minutes of spectacular wide-screen landscapes. |
| 244439 | Elvis Mitchell | Movieline | Fresh | 7/10 | 2011-01-20T11:14:04.000Z | 2011-01-20 11:14:04 | Weir's artisan's sureness grants a bewitching calm -- his trademark ambience -- to this harrowing tale. |
| 244440 | Lisa Schwarzbaum | Entertainment Weekly | Fresh | B | 2011-01-20T09:53:54.000Z | 2011-01-20 09:53:54 | The scenes of brute survival - hunting for food, improvising shelter, making wind-and-snow masks out of sheets of birch bark - are vivid. The men are not. |
| 244441 | Steve Persall | Tampa Bay Times | Fresh | B+ | 2011-01-20T09:39:19.000Z | 2011-01-20 09:39:19 | The Way Back goes to great lengths for authenticity, which is ironic considering its source is dubious. This is old-school monumental filmmaking, without CGI tricks or many soundstage comforts for a dedicated cast. David Lean would probably approve. |
| 244442 | Kathleen Murphy | MSN Movies | Fresh | 4/5 | 2011-01-20T08:49:59.000Z | 2011-01-20 08:49:59 | Gorgeous to look at, and a matter-of-fact paean to the possibility of human decency, The Way Back makes the genre-juggling dream quest of Inception look like child's play. |
| 244443 | Matt Pais | Metromix.com | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2011-01-20T07:55:38.000Z | 2011-01-20 07:55:38 | Snow-covered trees, expansive mountains, intimidating desert; the film thrives on the brutal conditions of endless terrain. |
| 244444 | Michael Phillips | Chicago Tribune | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2011-01-20T07:40:35.000Z | 2011-01-20 07:40:35 | Weir and editor Lee Smith seem preoccupied with hustling events along, and nervous about boring us for even a second. The result is a brisk trot through a story that is, at heart, a tough slog. |
| 244445 | Betsy Sherman | Boston Phoenix | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2011-01-20T04:49:35.000Z | 2011-01-20 04:49:35 | It benefits from Weir's talent for big-canvas moviemaking, though the result is a commendable drama rather than a great one. |
| 244446 | Roger Ebert | Chicago Sun-Times | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2011-01-20T04:40:58.000Z | 2011-01-20 04:40:58 | Not every incredible story makes a compelling movie. |
| 244447 | Josh Bell | Las Vegas Weekly | Fresh | 3/5 | 2011-01-19T22:00:50.000Z | 2011-01-19 22:00:50 | An old-fashioned, unpretentious epic that reliably gets where it needs to go. |
| 244448 | Robin Clifford | Reeling Reviews | Fresh | B+ | 2011-01-19T14:42:52.000Z | 2011-01-19 14:42:52 | Director Peter Weir and his cast and crew journeyed to such locations as Bulgaria, Morocco and India to give the film a realism that borders on documentary. |
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