Review of The Way Back (2010) by Virginie S — 15 Jun 2011

You got to love a movie in which the plot is simply people walking from point A to point B. Okay, so maybe the distance is 4 000 miles, but still.

If some dudes really made this trek, they were some crazy bastards. I can respect getting the fuck out of Siberia (coldness sucks), but I don't know if I would have wanted to cross the Himalayans as well. That is just showing off.

I want to point out the ingenious title design by the way. The title looks like it was written in Cyrillic alphabet, but it is clearly English when you study it for a second. Awesome. Such little details give me joy.

Several of my favorite actors are in the film, which made my day from the start. Colin Farrell, Ed Harris and Mark Strong are all in the flick, which pretty much means it couldn't be bad if it tried. Farrell plays his typical psycho role, but he does it very well. Strong should have been on screen a bit longer, but I'll take anything I can get. Ed Harris is just Ed Harris. The man has gravitas. He doesn't even need a first name like the others, he is simply Mr. Smith.

The cinematography is gorgeous, and we get to see many beautiful places, as the posse traverses through Asia. Granted, they don't get to enjoy the sights much, as they are too busy starving to death. I'm not sure people could have survived such ordeals in real life, but some artistic freedom should be expected.

If the journey was anything close to this in reality, I don't understand how any of them survived. Particularly in the snowy conditions. Fuck that looks cold! But if they did, and they really even stopped to make soap and shit, I will consider them quite badass. It would have been easy to trace their footsteps just by following the trail of graves, which would totally be a cool theme for a hike. What? I'd go.

The ending is so perfect in my book that I added half a star just for that. I know, I am a sappy and sentimental guy.