Would have liked it better if it had been hyped less

Rating: 6/10 (25 November 2002)

I finally got around to seeing this film and frankly, with all the hype that surrounded it when it was new, I had expected something better. It's interesting that it's a film written by two childhood friends and that they made it big. It's less interesting as a film, period. Don't get me wrong; it's not really a BAD movie, it's just an average movie with nothing terribly surprising, innovative, or new, and it had a big reputation to live up to.
The concept of a genius in janitors' clothing was new to me, and while it's refreshing to see a topic in a movie that hasn't been in a hundred movies before, the way the rest of the story played out was somewhat predictable. Didn't mean I didn't like it, just that I wasn't surprised by it. I was expecting something a bit more surprising or shocking, and frankly the only thing shocking about this movie was the language. Couldn't it have been made without quite so much profanity?
Some of the lines were quite a pleasure to watch -- especially Will's brainy monologues. And the acting was all around quite good, especially by Minnie Driver and the two leading male characters (Matt Damon's Will and Ben Affleck's character). Overall this isn't going to be one of my favorites, but I'm not sorry I watched it.