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01/01/00
Good Will Hunting (1997)
97
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:59
Fresh:57
Rotten:2
Average Rating:8.1/10
Consensus: Van Sant, working from Affleck and Damon's script, lends warmth and real emotion to the film's somewhat basic story.
Synopsis: A South Boston whiz kid elects to clean the halls of learning rather than enter them, slumming his way through life as a janitor at MIT. But his natural ability to unravel complex equations... [More]
Starring: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver
Director: Gus Van Sant
Reviews for Good Will Hunting
Top CriticClick to read the article
01/01/00
Top CriticCan get overly sentimental at times, but Gus Van Sant's sensitive direction... and his excellent use of the city make it a hugely entertaining and effective film.
05/26/06
Van Sant makes Good Will Hunting a lot livelier than it might have been.
01/01/00
...a worthwhile sample of entertainment.
01/01/00
At the core of Good Will Hunting is vivid, succulent dialogue that is emotionally naked, yet remarkably pedestrian at the same time.
01/01/00
Despite its coarse exterior, Good Will Hunting proves to be a rather positive and motivational experience.
05/09/07
Three soul friends help a troubled young man to find his place in the world.
03/01/02
Even rarer than a breath of fresh air is a breath of fresh Hollywood film. Brainy and heartfelt and right on target, Good Will Hunting is such a film.
01/01/00
It is the touchy-feely enterprise its plot synopsis suggests, but to simply dismiss it as that would be to discount the true emotional chords Affleck and Damon's intelligent script touches.
01/01/00
... a very good film which is well worth your hard-earned time and money.
01/01/00
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.
01/01/00
Top CriticExecuted with such maximum grace, style and heartfelt emotional realism that it's almost enough to make the concept of an 'uplifting' movie not seem like such a big fat cheat any more.
01/01/00
... an engrossing, emotional roller coaster with peaks and valleys of perceptive wit, unsettling anger, coarse humor, and touching affection.
01/01/00
Good Will Hunting is a confident film with great performances and an authentic look, sound and feel.
01/01/00
Will's relationships with his best friend, Chuckie (Affleck), and new girlfriend, Skylar (Minnie Driver), resonate with a depth that unfortunately few other movies approach.
01/01/00
Cynics may dismiss the film as an overly effusive festival of male-bonding, but for the rest of us, this is just the catharsis we need.
01/01/00
Despite its schematic layout and predictable outcome, the ensemble acting is of such a high level -- particularly that of Robin Williams, Matt Damon and Stellan Skarsgard -- that the impact on his audience is spellbinding.
01/01/00
The Damon-Affleck script is jammed with good ideas, strong dialogue and vigorous characters...
01/01/00
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