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The Top 40 Basketball Movies - #4. The Way Back

 The Top 40 Basketball Movies - #4. The Way Back
The Way Back
Not to be confused with the 2010 Ed Harris vehicle The Way Back or The Way Way Back with Sam Rockwell (that I also really enjoyed). Technically a tie with Coach Carter numbers wise but it gets the tie-breaking nudge from me. Similar Rotten Tomatoes audience score but much higher critic score though slightly lower IMDB. I do believe it belongs in the 5-10 range of basketball movies. It left a good taste in my mouth when it was over. I think I would really have to revisit it again to appreciate it more. The movie was definitely not all roses. It hits it's themes, especially alcoholism over the head. It really helps that Ben Affleck is so likable. Ben Affleck actually was going through alcohol rehab just prior to this movie. It feels like it's missing something in the beginning, the first scene with Jack's family didn't really feel right. You eventually find out that Jack had lost his wife and child which starts him down this road. Similar concept to so many of these movies including Coach Carter, great high school player comes back to coach. The team starts playing better under Jack's tutelage but eventually gets done in by his vice. My favorite scenes happen off the court, in one of them Jack goes to see a boy's father at work about going to watch his son play. In another, Jack gets drunk and wanders into someone else's home. Not familiar with the writer but the director Gavin O'Connor is no stranger to sports movies as his resume includes Miracle and Warrior. The only other actor I recognize - Melvin Gregg, also did High Flying Bird. It definitely is a step above a generic sports movie. I don't think it's as good as White Men Can't Jump, BASEketball or even Above the Rim for me at this point but deserves to be in the conversation with Coach Carter, Glory Road, and Believe in Me as similar movies.

Movie Rotten Tom Rotten Tom Aud IMDB   Internet Rank My Rank
4. The Way Back 84 84 6.7 9 5
5. Coach Carter 64 85 7.3 7 7
6. Air 92 98 7.7 1 14
7. White Men Can't Jump 77 68 6.8 17 1
8. He Got Game 80 83 6.9 8 11
9. Uncut Gems 91 52 7.4 13 9
10. One on One 88 75 6.5 15 12
11. Above the Rim 52 82 6.6 18 10
12. Champions 59 95 6.7 12 17
13. BASEketball 41 74 6.5 28 2
14. Glory Road 55 81 7.2 14 18
15. Finding Forrester 74 79 7.3 10 22
16. Rebound: The Legend of Earl “The Goat” 50 94 7.6 6 27
17. Inside Moves 50 77 7.0 19 16
18. Hoop Dreams 98 92 8.3 2 35
19. Uncle Drew 61 48 5.7 32 6
20. Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story 50 99 6.9 11 28
21. The Winning Season 50 55 6.6 26 15
22. Fast Break 50 59 6.1 30 13
23. Believe in Me 60 74 7.0 16 29
24. High Flying Bird 91 50 6.2 20 26
25. "O" 64 58 6.1 22 25
26. Forget Paris 48 56 6.5 29 19
27. Sunset Park 13 83 5.9 31 21
28. Game Day 50 82 5.4 25 30
29. Blue Chips 37 51 6.2 33 23
30. Amateur 60 66 5.9 24 32
31. The Air Up There 21 35 5.5 38 20
32. Space Jam 43 63 6.5 27 31
33. Semi-Pro 22 38 5.8 36 24
34. Heaven Is a Playground 50 84 5.8 21 39
35. Hurricane Season 50 69 6.5 23 38
36. Teen Wolf 42 52 6.1 34 34
37. Boogie 42 57 5.2 35 36
38. Rebound 14 38 5.1 40 33
39. Slam Dunk Ernest 50 31 4.5 37 37
40. Eddie 17 36 5.2 39 40

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