Exactly one hour into "Gone Baby Gone" a brain-numbing, dog ear-twitching screech sang out across the theater. I looked 'round the seats, and to my left wrist, and realized that film had come to a shocking, sudden halt. But...no...no...here we go...it slowly started up again, like the T departing Ashmont station, and continued on for a complete second hour, before finally docking in a not-believable, yet still debate-inducing, last few scenes. Now, I'm not prepared to say Ben Affleck's direction is straight bad. In fact, the first half is actually pretty good, combining different cut styles, varied pacing, and a knock-out performance from Amy Madigan (PS. engrave her name on an Oscar). But once the plot starts twisting, it's like a snake in Affleck's hands. Even Casey's performance veers off into boredom. Ultimately, the film's only saving grace is the philosophical question it poses: What is "best" for a child, and who gets to decide? But even that plays out in a kind of surreality which never makes clear why a woman like Helene would get to keep her child, and how the kidnappers thought they'd get away with it. As for the setting, Affleck does a great job at protraying the true grit of Boston's outskirts (an image I hope its residents soon attempt to improve). Based on his name, he's got a long directorial career ahead of him, and based on the first half of "Gone Baby Gone," he's got potential to work with.… Expand

This is not an original movie. This is almost an exact copy of "Along Came a Spider." I had to ask myself for a refund cause it bored me and the plot was so obvious.

Major flaw-if Affleck's character was so morally righteous to expose Freeman and his associates, why does he hide the fact he murdered a man by shooting him in the back of the head?

This movie is pretty bad. It was slow, drawn out had too many twists that were not really twists and it was just plain boring. The only good part (which earned it a 3) was the end where it forced you to think about your own moral compass and which way it would have pointed you. It also shows the nature of people thinking they know what's best for other people. I like movies that have a point but I didn't like having to suffer through this movie only to see the point in the last 5 minutes.… Expand

Very disappointing! I wanted to like it, but the story jumped around so much, I could not get into it. I'll admit, I read the book it's based on, which is very good, but they were unable to bring it through clearly onscreen. You never get a chance to know the characters at all. Looks like they fooled a lot of critics though. Again, I am so disappointed!

The Affleck's doesn't have so much sympathy on the screen.Casey is bad, he was the perfect guy to be Robert Ford in The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford though. Anyway, this movie could be the greatest in 1992, not in 2007. It has so many cliches and the script has so many lacks... I can't imagine how the crictics figures out this movie could be good.

This movie is not very good. at all.

People who reacted negatively to Gone Baby Gone are probably missing the point. It's not about plot twists, or predictability, or the fact that the story is dark. ( Review from Chris ) How can you skip over these points.I thought films made you want to watch them not endure them.Gone Baby Gone is predictable, dragged out and has more plot holes than a swiss cheese. Yes it did provoke some thought at the end and for that it get 3 points. The other 90% of the film unfortunately fits into my most hated category. Not quite bad enough to laugh at not good enough to be immersed in or taken somewhere. I would say avoid this film however I am fairly sure my review will not be popular.… Expand

This movie was so mediocre. Casey Affleck and Ed Harris were great, but that is about it.