Highly Overrated But Still Good

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

I watched this after walking the first half of the Camino (at an age considerably more than Sheen's character), and was pleasantly surprised to see many recognizable sights. The portrayal of the journey is mostly spot on, with the obvious exclusion of blisters, sore muscles, and other discomforts of the trail. I never completely understood the characters, though. Their presentation seems superficial. People walk the Camino for many reasons, but you have to be dedicated to your purpose to take a month or two out of your normal routine to do it. Sheen's character showed the grit most of the time, but to the others it seemed more like a lark.

The premise of this film doesn't sound too bad: 'A father heads overseas to recover the body of his estranged son who died while travelling the "El camino de Santiago," and decides to take the pilgrimage himself.' If you can imagine a good film along those lines then I'd recommend leaving it at that. If there's one lesson to be learnt from this movie, it's that life is too precious to waste two hours of yours watching it.Martin Sheen's decent performance in the face of a weak plot, unconvincing dialogue and substandard production values is one of the only redeeming features. He described it as the best role that had ever been written for him but you have to wonder if he would have said that or indeed gone anywhere near this project had his son not been the writer and director.I have recently done this walk and it is a great experience. There are incredible vistas along the way as well as long barren stretches, none of which are captured here with any great degree of skill or imagination. It looks like someone's first attempt having done an evening course in filmmaking and, checking out the director's filmography, that's not (relatively speaking) too far off the mark.You also meet interesting characters along the actual Camino but being real, three-dimensional people, they bear absolutely no resemblance to the ones depicted here. One of the few things that the makers of this production actually managed to achieve was matching the general quality of the acting performances with the quality of everything else - it was all below par.With a running time of 2 hours (that feels like an eternity) you can't help but feel that they should have been a bit more liberal with the scissors in the editing suite. It does beg the question though: which bits would actually merit being left in?You may get the impression that I'm not the kind of person this film is aimed at. On the contrary, I imagine that my sensibilities would put me very much in the target market. My favourite films are ones with themes of hope, fraternity and triumph of the human spirit. I think The Way attempts to capture these motifs but just doesn't manage it in any sense.One of the genres listed for this film is comedy but the only really humorous aspect of it unfolds as it descends into a surreal game of "Where's Wally?" as you wonder 'where is the wally responsible for writing and directing this thing going to pop up next?'...Every now and then Emilio Estevez's dead character (who looks more like a swollen corpse than I think was the intention) jarringly appears in more and more ridiculous places. It really wouldn't have seemed that incongruous had his head popped out of a toilet as Sheen's Tom had gone to relieve himself from the torture of having to converse with his insufferable walking companions.Unfortunately the worst legacy of this film is that it is ruining the Camino de Santiago not just in its second-rate depiction of it but in actuality as thousands of baby boomer retired Americans flock to France and Spain in order to find themselves and presumably implausible fat Dutchmen called Joost and obnoxious Canadian women called Sarah. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against anyone doing the walk who wants to and certainly nothing against the people of that great country. But when you've walked 30km to your destination with a 15kg pack on your back only to be greeted by people piling out of a taxi, having paid for their bags to be sent on, joining the queue for the accommodation that's meant to be reserved for walkers it does leave a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth. This is especially true when it means that you have to either sleep outside (this actually happened) or walk another 6km to the next town with no guarantee of a place to stay there either.Also, don't think that my experiences on the walk clouded my objective view of this film. I was looking forward to seeing what had inspired so many people to make their trip and was hoping to relive the countless positive memories I'd had. This just wasn't what I found.You never really find out what it was that killed Estevez's character in The Way, I can only assume that this and indeed the whole film is some kind of a metaphor for the suicide note to his directing career that it is.

This is a movie that should touch the heart of each person watching it. As a parent, husband, and friend it reminds me of the journey we are all on in our lives, and how it is never too late to experience a rebirth of ones own soul. I offer this advice, don't watch this like you are watching a normal movie. Watch it with an open heart and an open mind. You might learn something about yourself. I know it sounds silly, but I walk away from this movie more determined then ever to be a better man, man, and citizen. Truly a touching movie.I watched it alone, and for some reason I think you might get the most of it this way. Unless you want to look like crybaby in front of your significant other.

This is the sort of a movie that we really need to see more of. Base on what is really important in life and is what easily attainable anywhere.All you need is effort to do it. How great would it be to share a journey with your dad or family member to experience life in away that we seem to have lost. We are all so caught up in the mundane things of every day life that true life experiences are lost. Funny how it takes a movie like this to bring that longing back.Well done and thank you for that great movie. I will planing my own journey now