Good Will Hunting 1997

Susan Stark, Detroit News: Between this film and John Grisham's The Rainmaker, Damon surfaces as one swell addition to the front line of screen actors. Read more

Janet Maslin, New York Times: As Francis Ford Coppola does with The Rainmaker, Van Sant demonstrates how entertainingly a real pro can direct a strong if not especially groundbreaking story. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: While the charismatic performances of Damon and Affleck make "Good Will Hunting" a difficult entertainment to resist, doing just that is not as hard as the film would like to think. Read more

Entertainment Weekly: Good Will Hunting is stuffed -- indeed, overstuffed -- with heart, soul, audacity, and blarney. You may not believe a minute of it, but you don't necessarily want to stop watching. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: The film works as a character-driven narrative because Mr. Van Sant and his co-screenwriters are not afraid to unlock the psychological mysteries of their five major characters with clear and concise dialogue. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: ...a worthwhile sample of entertainment. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The outcome of the movie is fairly predictable; so is the whole story, really. It's the individual moments, not the payoff, that make it so effective. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Almost any viewer will enjoy Good Will Hunting moment by moment, but many will wake the next morning wondering why, with all that talent on hand, it amounts to so little in the end. Read more

Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle: Intimate, heartfelt and wickedly funny, it's a movie whose impact lingers. Read more

Derek Adams, Time Out: It's acted and directed with care, and Damon is outstanding, his scenes with Driver being especially sparky. Read more

Emanuel Levy, Variety: Towering performance by Matt Damon as a troubled working class who needs to address his creative genius elevates this drama way above its therapeutic approach, resulting in a zeitgeist film that may touch chord with young viewers the way The Graduate did Read more