Last night I'm sitting down to watch the way back and I hear someone exclaim in the theater Grace

Randolph movie math and I turn around to discover that I'm sitting next to BTT viewer Arturo and Kelly

Who are nice enough to introduce themselves and of course they love movies like we all do so we had a fantastic time

talking about New York City movie theaters and the new Batmobile before the movie started and then after the movie, of course

I asked them what they thought and they said in unison without hesitation

Be I would go a little higher than that, but I can totally see where they're coming from

And by the way, we also agreed that Ben Affleck sure was a great Batman

Bruce Wayne and he is Ben Affleck without a doubt the main reason to see this movie. It's crazy to me

In fact that this film is being released in March when it's clearly clearly an awards show case for Affleck

This is his crazy heart his Manchester by the sea my biggest criticism of this film only

Really my only criticism as you're about to see is that it feels very small

but so did those movies but because they were acting showcase showcase showcases that was

Excused. So if this movie I think had come out in October November or maybe even December and had been framed as an awards

Film I think

That that wouldn't seem as much of a hindrance to the film as it does with the March release which just goes to show you

how important publicity and release dates are

This is not your standard movie about a sports coach and his students

Well in some ways it is but it's also moving about being an alcoholic in the crosses that we all bear

In fact, that's a line in the movie and the story is set at a religious school to really hammer that point home

And maybe that hinders the way back a bit

Hinders it a bit and that's my other criticism of the film. Well that really criticism

But you know if I was making notes of the red pen

Which was what I kind of do when I give my reviews, but if I would say it's two movies in one

It's a coach high school coach sports movie, but it's also a movie about alcoholism like block the long arm the long weekend

So it's very famous. Like the first film about alcoholism. Very good

and therefore in just the timeframe of a single film

It doesn't really have the proper amount of time to develop two movies because you know, it's just one

Then again, though

I do think it's nice to have both those elements because this movie has a very strong message

About how important it is to find something to put your energy and rather than self-destruction and I think this movie does get that across

And for and for Ben Affleck's Jack Cunningham and some of his players that's basketball and there's like a tiny bit of discussion

as

to whether or not it's bad to put all your

You know your to focus so much on basketball and there was some I think glimmers of an interesting larger conversation there

An Affleck by the way is very very good the movie I think is it quite sure how what it wants to cover and depth

But it does know for sure that it wants to spotlight Ben Affleck and spotlight in

Spotlight him it does and I do again feel the right handling. This could have been an awards film for him

And I think it's incredibly brave of Affleck to address alcoholism on screen considering his own real-life struggles

But I think because of that he does portray an alcoholic in a real respectful and meaningful way

You know instead of I think sometimes the caricatures and

unrelated and there that which are therefore unrelatable to many people that we

Usually see on screen

And also I also like that his Jack Cunningham had so much potential as a person and he's such a likable

capable individual if he didn't get in his own way and to see

Flashes of that man breakthrough is captivating. I mean he was Jack Cunningham. He's character. It's just a really great guy

And very capable

You know often I think there's a stereotype about who becomes an alcoholic and I like that this movie

Breaks that and it really is an actors film which is unusual for a sports movie

In fact, they don't even show most of the games

They have this funny thing where they cut to the final score, which is actually and with a cool freeze-frame

Which is I think actually, you know, very compelling but a flex coaching scenes are very well done

It's but my focuses less on what happens on the court and then and more on what's off the court including his coaching

So yes

Instead of focusing on multiple players like sports movies usually do this movie really is about the coach but not to say that gavin o'connor

Doesn't surround affleck with excellent likeable actors, and he most certainly does

Once again, you have a comedian

turning in a

dramatic grounded nuanced performance and this time it's al Madrigal is a flicks assistant coach Madrigal is

Actually, excellent here. I mean, he should be working more. I was just blown away by what he was able to do

And while all the basketball players do a nice job The Reluctant star of the team

Is the one that gets the most attention and he's played by relative newcomer Brandon Wilson

who is a genuine find I'd say he's a mix between

Adrian Grenier and Bruno Mars

and he easily holds the screen opposite Affleck with very little dialogue which is part of his character and he should

Instantly be on every casting directors radar

He's that good as for the film overall and the age of streaming as I said

It's a bit on the small side and aside from the acting

Performances. It doesn't really have any reason to see it on the big screen

And once again as I said considering how many topics the movie tries to cover it?

seems like it would have benefited to me from being a streaming show to get a few more hours of story time and I think

it's to the movies credit and to the actors credit that I would gladly spend more time with these characters and

Well kind of in the world

I really was want I was really interested in these characters and I gladly would have liked the movies like a little under - a

little under two hours

I would have gladly spent like another four hours with them and I think the I think the movie well

The story would have benefitted from that. So that's my review of the way back. I'm very curious to hear your own thoughts down below

Arturo and Kelly, it was lovely to meet you subscribe today. And of course as always you can check out some more videos right now