The Way Back is filled with action and seething hostility that explodes into rage. When the story begins, Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) is a construction worker in the Los Angeles area, boozing furtively on the job and compulsively at night in a neighborhood bar. That is the whole of his existence, a solitary one that is destined to remain so until a call comes from his alma mater, a local parochial school. As a student in the 1990’s, Cunningham was a basketball star with a college scholarship and a bright future. Now the school wants him to take over for the team’s current coach who has been sidelined by a heart attack. As far as plot goes, this is a good one, with echoes of Hoosiers and more excitement than you might think. It is a given that Coach Cunningham and his young players will nurture one another and create a suspense-driven winning culture. 

Ben Affleck owns this role. Critics are debating whether or not this has been the best performance of his career, which has been a bumpy one, to say the least. This was a personal role for Affleck and one that he took seriously. His performance solely turns this movie into something of a classic. 

The Way Back premiered in theaters on March 6, 2020. The movie has a rating of 7.2 out of 10 on IMDb and 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. It has made $8.5 million at the box office thus far. Showtimes for The Way Back can be found here.