Mom's Minute

Introduction to The Way Back Movie Review

The Way Back movie starring Ben Affleck is a film I had planned to see in the movie theater once it was released. I saw the movie trailer awhile back and thought it would be an up-lifting, inspirational type film. However, before the movie premiered, the pandemic hit so watching The Way Back movie at the theater was out of the question.

Recently, when I found out The Way Back movie was playing on HBO Max, I decided to watch it.  Was The Way Back film starring Ben Affleck worth the wait? Check out my movie review to find out.

Plot of The Way Back Movie

The plot of The Way Back movie  is simple and clear cut. A former high school basketball star (Ben Affleck’s character) is now grown and was asked to return to his former high school to coach the basketball team. The movie centers around the coach’s substance abuse problems that he battled on and off the basketball court as well as other unfortunate events he experienced.

Storyline of The Way Back Movie

In taking a look back on the occurrences in The Way Back movie, it appeared as if Ben Affleck’s character was caught in a loop of first conquering his addiction but then relapsing and starting over again on a self-destructive path.The storyline is about this character’s battle with addiction; however, from watching the trailer, I anticipated there would be more attention on him coaching the basketball team. I was under the impression he would ultimately declare victories for the basketball team as well as his addiction -- similar to other “feel-good’ type movies. Spoiler Alert: This was not the case.

Inspiring Events in The Way Back Movie

Uplifting type occurrences or moments were few and far between in The Way Back movie. When Ben Affleck's character coached -- he did so from a negative standpoint riddled with profane language. The movie showed that he acknowledged and sympathised with certain players' life circumstances, but for the most part, he seemed to interact with the team from a negative standpoint. He was under the influence most of the time which may not excuse but may have accounted partially for some of his actions.

On a positive note, the movie did show the team’s progress from being underrated to becoming champions under the coaching “skills” of Ben Affleck’s character.

How to Improve the Entertainment Value of The Way Back Movie

I think this movie could have been improved by showing that Ben Affleck’s character finally beat his addiction and was able to coach the team to more victories. Since this was, of course a fictional story, this positive aspect could have been added. On the other hand, It may have been fine to show Ben Affleck’s character as he really was, without any sugarcoating. 

Spoiler Alert: The movie, The Way Back does not end on an upbeat note. Ben Affleck's character once again relapsed and is told to leave the team as a coach for good. The movie attempted to show how the team felt about him as a coach after he was forced out -- even though he was no longer coaching them. To me, even though he did lead the team to victory, I do not see this as a basis to recognize him during future games -- mainly because of why and how he was relieved of his duties as a coach.

Assessment of The Way Back Movie

In a nutshell, I was disappointed in The Way Back movie. The series of events that occurred, leading to his dismissal as a coach, once and for all, did not justify him to be celebrated by the team. Ben Affleck’s character seemed to know how to lead the basketball team to victory; but unfortunately, was unable to lead himself to beat his addiction.

Because of the negatives mentioned in my movie review, unfortunately, the film The Way Back, in my opinion, was not worth the wait.

Rating of The Way Back Movie

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars, with 5 stars being the highest, I rate The Way Back movie starring Ben Affleck 2 ½ stars.