Do you want to see ‘The Way’?

The Way (2011)

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Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.5/10
Reviews Counted: 85
Fresh: 68 | Rotten: 17

It may be a little too deliberately paced for more impatient viewers, but The Way is a worthy effort from writer/director Emilio Estevez, balancing heartfelt emotion with clear-eyed drama that resists cheap sentiment.

Average Rating: 6.5/10
Critic Reviews: 22
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 6

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Movie Info

The Way is a powerful and inspirational story about family, friends, and the challenges we face while navigating this ever changing and complicated world. Martin Sheen plays Tom, an irascible American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son (played by Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking The Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. Rather than return home, Tom decides embark on the historical

PG-13, 1 hr. 55 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Comedy

Directed By: Emilio Estevez

Written By: Emilio Estevez

In Theaters: Oct 7, 2011 Limited

Box Office:$4.4M

Icon Entertainment

Okay, since the destination is preordained, what does the script do en route? Estevez's answer is two-fold: minor episodic adventures + incessantly repeated montages.

November 4, 2011 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail

| Comments (3)

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

Estevez takes full advantage of the beautiful mountain scenery, dramatic skies and ancient architecture to give us moments of quiet wonder.

November 4, 2011 Full Review Source: Toronto Star

| Comment

Bruce Demara

Toronto Star

Top Critic

Heartfelt if occasionally plodding.

October 21, 2011 Full Review Source: Detroit News

| Comment

Tom Long

Detroit News

Top Critic

With "The Way," writer-director Emilio Estevez has made a respectable failure.

October 20, 2011 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle

| Comment

Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

It could have come out sentimental, but doesn't. The secret is the matter-of-factness.

October 14, 2011 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

| Comment

Colin Covert

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Top Critic

"The Way" is overly earnest and clumsily directed by Emilio Estevez (the non-prodigal son of Sheen). Yet it is nonetheless effective in evoking empathy and introspection.

October 13, 2011 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic

| Comment

Kerry Lengel

Arizona Republic

Top Critic

The Way is a worthy effort and a sign that Estevez may yet emerge as an excellent filmmaker.

January 11, 2012 Full Review Source: OK! Magazine

| Comment

Phil Villarreal

OK! Magazine

Between the sprightly soundtrack, the sensational on-location shoot, the anchoring performance by Sheen, and the methodological freedom permitted so that Avery's pilgrimage can naturally take its course, The Way immerses body and soul.

January 4, 2012 Full Review Source: Bangitout.com

| Comment

Jordan Hiller

Bangitout.com

Smartly written and directed with a master filmmaker's eye, "The Way" is one of those films you'll want to see again and again.

December 29, 2011 Full Review Source: MediaMikes

| Comment

Michael A. Smith

MediaMikes

The film does make a nice travelogue as Tom walks The Way and takes in the scenery. It's not a badly made film but it does aim for very low hanging sentimental fruit.

December 16, 2011 Full Review Source: KPBS.org

| Comment

Beth Accomando

KPBS.org

It's the kind of mushy pic you might be inspired to walk out on.

November 20, 2011 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

This is a quiet, warm film that some will find actually spiritual.

November 9, 2011 Full Review Source: Mark Leeper's Reviews

| Comment

Mark R. Leeper

Mark Leeper's Reviews

The Way almost immediately loses its way and stays lost.

November 4, 2011 Full Review Source: Tri-City Herald

| Comment (1)

Gary Wolcott

Tri-City Herald

This modest, heartfelt and utterly unpretentious cinematic spirit-quest is too sincere to mock, and yet somehow doesn't succumb to outright sentimentality.

November 4, 2011 Full Review Source: Jam! Movies

| Comment

Jim Slotek

Jam! Movies

Uplifting and sensitive without being sentimental, the mystic destination is worth the arduous trip.

October 25, 2011 Full Review Source: SSG Syndicate

| Comment

Susan Granger

SSG Syndicate

A nice little movie, and very obviously well intentioned. Unfortunately, it's also predictable and so corny that it sometimes feels like a joke in search of a punchline.

October 22, 2011 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

| Comment

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

'The Way' is a rare movie in that it deals with religion and family issues without playing like a sermon or a satire.

October 21, 2011 Full Review Source: MovieMaker Magazine

| Comment

Dan Lybarger

MovieMaker Magazine

...is uplifting without being maudlin, and has a heart on its sleeve sincerity that sidesteps sentimentality. It's also a bit too long.

October 21, 2011 Full Review Source: Metro Times (Detroit, MI)

| Comment

Jeff Meyers

Metro Times (Detroit, MI)

I'm guessing more than a few moviegoers will lace up their hiking boots for their own pilgrimage.

October 20, 2011 Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

| Comment

Cathy Jakicic

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Like The Big Year it contains blissful moments of clarity and awareness that few movies have lately. You walk out of the theater feeling better about yourself. Not enough to hike 900 miles or chase birds around North America, but it's a start.

October 19, 2011 Full Review Source: St. Petersburg Times

| Comment

Steve Persall

St. Petersburg Times Source: St. Petersburg Times

The Way is real personal cinema. It's an Estevez family project. But it's not a vanity project -- it's a spiritual legacy.

October 18, 2011 Full Review Source: tonymacklin.net

| Comment

Tony Macklin

tonymacklin.net

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Way

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I wanted to walk the way out of the theater.

November 3, 2011

Matt Goodman

Super Reviewer

Great job from the Sheen/Estevez family. The film drags a little bit, but you have to consider the material and the message.

September 10, 2011

Burger Star

Super Reviewer

The Way Quotes

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1. Daniel: You don't choose a life Dad. You live one.
– Submitted by Chris P (4 months ago)
1. Tom: Daniel was a lot like you. Smart, confident, stubborn... pissed me off a lot.
– Submitted by Chris P (4 months ago)
1. Tom: Most people don't have the luxury of just leaving it all behind.
– Submitted by Chris P (4 months ago)

Character	Quote
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