YMMV / The Way Back (2010)

aka: The Way Back

• Ending Fatigue: The film did get some criticism for making crossing the desert seem like the climax. Then they have to get to the Himalayas. Then they have to cross into India. Then the film finally wraps everything up in a hasty manner.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Zoran, for being the Plucky Comic Relief but also well-developed and resilient throughout the journey.
  • Valka the Russian criminal less interested in escaping altogether than getting out of that particular camp.
• Like You Would Really Do It: Like the movie would really kill off The Cutie played by Saoirse Ronan. But that's exactly what they did.
• Ron the Death Eater: A surprising amount of viewers (and indeed critics too) commented on how 'unrealistic' it was that Irena's presence didn't cause any tension in the group. As in sexual tension. Because that sort of thing would be expected. With a fourteen-year-old girl.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Some felt that the movie went downhill as soon as Valka leaves the group - trying to pack too much of the journey into the remaining running time.
• The Woobie: All of the characters have been through their own share of hardship, and all of the men had to suffer inside a horrible gulag for months. Even Irena, who wasn't in the gulag, still lost her parents.

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