Rating: 
Summary: Good Movie
Review: It was a great movie! I loved it the whole time! A true motion picture phenomenon, this triumphant story was nominated for nine Academy Awards - winning Oscars for Robin Williams and hot newcomers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The most brilliant mind at America's top university isn't a student... he's the kid who cleans the floors! Will Hunting (Damon) is a headstrong, working-class genius who's failing the lessons of life. After one too many run-ins with the law, Will's last chance is a psychology professor (Williams), who might be the only man who can reach him! With acclaimed performances from Academy Award nominee Minnie Driver and Ben Affleck - you'll find Good Will Hunting a powerful and unforgettable movie experience!
Rating:
Summary: Fun, Real, Deep, Excellent
Review: Director Gus Van Sant did a fine job directing the excellent actors in this film. There are a lot of similarities to his other film "Finding Forrester" with Sean Connery and Rob Brown, but this one has a very special and different feel to it. I was amazed at how well written the screenplay came from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, which earned them each an Academy Award. Robin Williams was fantastic, and earned an Academy Award as well. He really got into his role, as well as the rest of them. Good Will Hunting is a very memorable film about a troubled young man with recognizable great potential, with strong friendships that inspire him to be better. This was a great role for all characters. However, if you happen to be someone who takes offense to foul language, you'll want to be prepared to hear a lot of it. Its R rating was well deserved, due to pervasive strong language, some sexual dialogue, and a scene of violence. For another movie with similar taste and not so much profanity, I would recommend Finding Forrester. Good Will Hunting was an amazing and memorable film. It was well worth my time.
Rating: 
Summary: A melodramatic disappointment.
Review: This is a great concept/story, and the set-up is good. However, the film takes a nosedive shortly after beginning, with tiresome and cliched characters and melodramatic scenes -- the "apple" scene being the exception. I think this movie is vastly overrated and filled with manufactured angst. I could not wait for it to end...and then I thought the ending was unfitting. The movie must serve as a sort of litmus test of personalities: those who love it and think it's brilliant, and those who, like me, think it's dreck.
Rating:
Summary: Or maybe 10 stars?
Review: Matt Damon and Ben Afleck shot to stardom after writing and also starring in this moving tale of two working-class friends in south Boston. Damon plays a math genius working as a janitor. The best role, however, in every sense of the word, is Robin Williams' star turn as the psychologist (he won an Oscar for it) who tries to get through Damon's tough-guy shell. The mystery is HOW two nobodies as young as Afleck and Damon were when they wrote this could possibly be wise and insightful enough to write a character of such depth and complexity. I guess it's called genius.
If you somehow have managed to miss this one, rent it now. Like, RIGHT NOW.
Rating:
Summary: An intelligent story
Review: This is a very intelligent film about Will Hunting (Matt Damon) a young genius, who because of his disadvantaged and abusive childhood, ends up as a janitor at MIT when he could easily be the head of the Mathematics department. Though the story is a bit far fetched (it is hard to believe a kid this bright wouldn't have been noticed by someone who would have guided him towards higher education), once you put that aside, it is a fascinating character study of a very complex and dynamic young man. Will is discovered after solving a math challenge left on a blackboard by the head of the math department at MIT. This throws his life into turmoil, as the mathematicians want to make him into a prodigy. He also begins seeing a therapist (Robin Williams) who forces him to confront many deep emotions and experiences he had been repressing. The effect this has on him, and his relationship with his friends is powerful and makes for an engrossing tale. The screenplay was written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon for which they won an Academy Award (the film was nominated for nine). Both were considered promising young actors before this film, but this tied a rocket pack to their backs and lit the fuse. Damon was outstanding in the lead. He had a very complex character to play and his emotional range was phenomenal. Not only was he quick witted, charming and vibrant, but he also had to be hot headed, arrogant, confused and despondent. He was able to switch emotions with ease and was always intense and believable. Robin Williams also gave one of his better performances and received a best supporting Oscar. It is hard not to like this film. Most of the challenges that Will faced were inside him, and watching him struggle to overcome the limitations from his past was very uplifting. I rated this film a 9/10. We need more scripts like this. Perhaps if we are lucky, Damon and Affleck will take time from their successful acting careers and collaborate again.
Rating:
Summary: GRITTY, STIRRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING DRAMA
Review: As close as a film comes to thrilling, moving, complete entertainment. The taut screenplay keeps you riveted as events unfold. Despite it's straightforward thematic backbone, Good Will Hunting does an impressive job playing out complex emotional negotiations between lover and friend, eager professional mentor and unwilling father figure, with the bitterness any hardworking career academic like the professor must inevitably feel in the face of a genetic miracle who'd rather chase girls than gunk around with theorems and formulas. On the negative side, some characters may come across as cardboard (an arrogant MIT professor; a humble-by-choice psychologist who turns out to be The Most Effective; an unsung math prodigy from the wrong side of Boston who never really saw the face of school but can recite page numbers from economics books; etc) but all of it is executed with such magnificent grace, style and heartfelt emotional realism that it has moved me every single time I have watched it (5 times). Special mention for the fabulous cameos from Robin Williams in a rare subdued but effective performance sans his usual comedic histrionics, and Minnie Driver, who is simply stunning in her role as Mr. Precocious' love interest. The DVD has some neat special features including interviews with the director and some interesting outtakes. This one's a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Films Ever
Review: This film was better than Titanic and better than As Good As It Gets, all three nominated for Best Picture in 1997. I am incredibly glad that it did win for Best Original Screenplay. A monologue performed by Robin Williams' character is probably the best monologues in a film ever written. I was amazed. It was so touching and so real. After watching this movie just once, it has already proved itself to be one of my favorite movies of all time. Surprisingly, I do have one disclaimer for all of those families looking for movies like this one to watch with their families. You know, movies that sort of have a theme like "life is tough but somehow, you'll make it through." This is similar, but trust me, it is not a family film. It has language every five seconds and a lot of sex-related dialogue and humor. This does not obstruct, however, the amazing script all together. If you're looking for a powerhouse film without being over the top, this one's it. The acting in this movie is also superior, namely Matt Damon. This is his first movie to really get people's attention. He even received an Oscar nomination for his leading role, and deservadly so. It really amazed me how he seemed so perfect (he is a genius after all) but on the inside, he was struggling. And slowly, as these defense mechanisms start coming into play, he unravels and to have someone reveal their inner being like this so perfectly really establishes them as an amazing actor. Robin Williams was also in this film and he also did very well, receiving his first Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor. Also nominated was Minnie Driver, playing Damon's girlfriend in the movie. She had this arguement with Damon towards the end of the film and it allowed her to shine. She was so raw, so real. She blew me away. Before Good Will Hunting I had never seen her in anything very high quality. Thankgoodness for this movie! Bottom Line: Although not a family film (trust me), this movie establishes itself to be one of the best all around movies of recent years. (I give it an A+ and it is number one on my all time favorite movies list)
Rating: 
Summary: "What's with everyone saying that I owe it to myself?
Review: Genius is a fleeting thing. As Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting" shows, one can dedicate his entire life to mastering an academic discipline . . . only to be one-upped by the janitor. Matt Damon made his cinematic break-through portraying Will Hunting, the MIT janitor who is a master of mathematics but a basket case in the more personal aspects of life. He is the janitor at MIT who catches the eye of Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) who sees the unlimited potential in Hunting even if Hunting himself can't see it. Yet, the trauma of Hunting's life has taken its toll on the boy and Lambeau hopes counseling by his old college roommate, Sean McGuire (Robin Williams) can help undo the psychological damage. Supported by Skylar (Minnie Driver), a Harvard student, and his best friend Chuckie (Ben Affleck), Hunting begins to make strides and come to grips with his past. "Good Will Hunting" basically came out of nowhere in 1997 and captured the imagination of the viewing public. It was a reminder that solid films could still be made without $100 million budgets. It was also the film that made both Damon and Affleck household names, won Robin Williams his first Oscar, and gave director Gus Van Sant (of "Drugstore Cowboy" and "To Die For" fame) his first major commercial success. It was a straightforward character study fueled by strong individual performances and clever dialogue which emulated films of an earlier era that reveled in its simplicity and not its bombast. "Good Will Hunting" will never be mistaken for a Hollywood epic but it still endears as a little cinematic gem from the 1990's.
Rating:
Summary: Totally involving, original, wise and deeply moving.
Review: So many people I respect loved this film that I just had to see it. And I was glad I did. It surprised me. I had seen the trailer a long time ago and thought that the trailer had said it all. I was wrong. This film is a lot more than the plot. It is the story of a brilliant rough working class young man in from South Boston (Matt Damon) who retains everything he reads. He's a janitor at MIT and solves mathematical problems on the blackboard after class. He gets into a lot of fights and when he is arrested the mathematics professor who realizes what a genius he is, puts up bail on the proviso he get counseling with psychologist Robin Williams. What follows is a original, tight, and deeply moving movie. There is more wisdom in this one movie than I have ever seen on the screen before, and it is totally involving. I understand that before Matt Damon was an actor, he wrote this story as a 50 page assignment for a creative writing class at Harvard. The story haunted him, however, and with his friend, fellow actor Ben Affleck, they created the screenplay by improvising each scene together. What resulted was this work of art. Don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: Two scenes elevate this movie from simply good, to brilliant
Review: Many reviewers have focused on the acting and the story as the basis for their positive reviews, but there are two scenes that really make this movie, although I think the subtlety of their connection sometimes escapes people. Even Amazon's reviewer called the script "clunky" or some such condescending insult, making me think he missed this too. SPOILER The first scene occurs when Will Hunting and his posse go out on the town one night, and instead of going to their regular Southie hangouts, they hit a "Hahvahd bah". After a series of amusing events, there is a confrontation between Will and an arrogant Harvard undergrad, Clark. Clark, assuming Will is just some uneducated Southie scum, starts quoting from one of his history/economics textbooks, passing it off as his own thoughts, assuming that no one will recognize the true source of his words, in an attempt to impress some nearby girls. Will, having read the same book in his free time, recognizes the passage, interrupts, and finishes it for Clark, even quoting the book title, author, and page number, and thoroughly embarrassing Clark. Will asks, "are you going to plagiarize the entire book for me, or do you have an original thought of your own?" The humiliated student resorts to the lame comeback that at least he'll "have a degree, and Will will one day be serving his kids fries at the drive-through." Will responds, "at least I won't be unoriginal," and invites Clark to step outside to further "discuss" it. Clark meekly declines, ending the scene. The second scene occurs after Will has been recognized and bailed out from jail by an MIT professor, Lambeau. Lambeau's two conditions for bailing out Will were that Will spend several days a week working on mathematics with Lambeau, and working in therapy with a psychologist. However, Will inevitably proves smarter than all the psychologists Lambeau enlists, finding various ways to turn the tables and expose their own shortcomings and insecurities, rather than opening up about and dealing with his own, offending them and humiliating them to the point where they refuse to continue working with Will. Finally, Lambeau enlists the aid of Sean (Robin Williams), his old MIT undergrad roomate with whom he has fallen out of touch over the years. Sean, a Southie native like Will, is psychology prof at a local Boston college, and is a man living an empty, dead life, still grieving over the death of his beloved wife to cancer two years ago. In short order, Will cruelly exposes Sean's pain, and believing himself to be the victor once again, exits the session. But Sean is no quitter, and tells Lambeau to schedule the next session anyway. At this session, Sean turns the tables, by telling Will essentially what Will told the arrogant Harvard student at the bar, but on a deeper level. Sean tells Will that he's just boy, whose only experience in life comes from reading books. Sean points out that while Will may be able to talk all about art, war, love, grief, and other aspects of life, he's never actually experienced any of it. He doesn't know what it "smells like inside the Sistine Chapel", or what it's like to be in a war and to hold "your best friend's head in your lap and watch him draw his last breath, looking to you for help." Will doesn't know what it's like to truly love, nor to grieve for the death that of love. This revelation has the effect of instilling in Will a respect for Sean's intelligence and character, allowing him to finally start opening up to someone, and marking a turning point in the movie. Robin William's monologue in this scene is probably one of the best pieces of writing Hollywood has come up with in recent years, not for its sappiness, but for its depth, truth, and honesty, and for the clever way that it turns Will's own thoughts against him. So, for these two scenes alone I give this movie 5 stars. There are plenty of other funny and clever scenes that fill the gaps and complete the movie, but these are the most important two, and the ones that make it a must-see.
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