The Way Back

Jim Sturgess and Ed Harris star in this ineffective film from director Peter Weir about a group of Russian prisoners busting out of a Siberian prison and walking a long, long, long way to freedom. Yes, some of the scenery in this film is mighty good to look at, and the story kept my attention for its first half. By the time the surviving escapees were trudging through the Himalayas, I felt like I had watched five movies, and not one of them was all that good. Colin Farrell shows up as the rough and nasty prisoner with a knife, bad teeth and horrible Russian accent, while Saoirse Ronan makes good of her smaller role as a tag-along. The movie needs some paring down; I don’t mind long films, but I do mind long, boring films. This is a long and boring film.