Highly Overrated But Still Good

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Perfect story, great acting. Movie for whole family.

For those who don't know, the poor rating will not make sense. For those who've heard but think its no big deal, I disagree with you. For those who know and care, please help stand up with me.It is fact, not speculation, that John Nash was at very least bisexual, and the tendency to suppress this fact only adds to the stigma of shame thrust upon those of us who are not happily heterosexual. The people who write the scripts insist on changing facts to make the movie more mainstream and profitable, to make it more palatable for those whom share distaste for people who don't fit into how their egos require. It is a shame, because this movie could have been groundbreaking beyond its intriguing portrayal of a brilliant man's inner turmoil, done so well otherwise. You cannot use an excuse that revealing a complex man's complex natures would only give the story too much distraction.I would have enjoyed the movie otherwise but found the omission disgusting. Much like 'The Martian Child' by David Gerrald that was successfully translated to bigscreen, but because it would be 'unacceptable' to have characters 'marred' by so-called character-defects that would reduce their likability, well we certainly can't allow children to have such role models, can we?I am fortunate to be well-educated and well-read, to have known that gay or bisexual men can be awesome and powerful, not just amusing. There are plenty who need the truth more than the majority demand placation.

I never watched 'A Beautiful Mind' at its time of release as I wasn't a massive fan of Russell Crowe and I didn't know what the film was about. For me, this was the ultimate example of never judging a book by its cover. I still proclaim that the cover of the DVD looks pretty dull and gives no real hint as to what the film was about. Yes, I knew that Crowe won an Oscar for his performance and that it was a story about a guy who did stuff, but nothing about (the little) I heard about it really grabbed me. However, now nearly twenty years later, I finally got round to seeing what all the fuss was about. And I'm actually quite glad I did.I guess my overriding predictions of 'A Beautiful Mind' was that it was a love story and nothing else. However, the film is actually based on the real life story of John Nash (Crowe), an American code-breaker who helped the US Government decipher Russian messages during the Cold War, making the whole thing more akin to a spy thriller than a romantic drama. I'm not saying that just because it's about spies you're going to get a load of high-octane James Bond car chases and gadgets. What you have here is a far more realistic take on the profession. We see how Nash is 'recruited' by the Government and the way he uses his gifts with patterns and numbers in order to help them out. Of course there's always going to be a reasonable helping of romantic sub-plot and here it comes in the form of Jennifer Connolly who becomes his wife throughout the course of the story. But, in my opinion (now!), it's primarily a spy story.I won't go into too much detail regarding the rest of the plot as there are most likely some things that you won't see coming. Or, at least from my perspective as someone who knew nothing about the film before watching, I certainly didn't predict what would happen. But, I do recommend watching it, even if you're not a fan of spy-stuff. If nothing else then Crowe's performance is definitely worth a look. You can see why he got his Oscar as he does put everything he has into the portrayal of a man who, by his own admission, isn't that likeable and yet you want to see what happens to him. Ed Harris and Christopher Plummer should also get mentions as they both provide integral parts of the story. I know Jennifer Connolly was good too, but I felt she had little to do other than be Nash's long-suffering partner throughout the story. It is a kind of long film and I think perhaps around fifteen to twenty minutes of the final act could probably have been trimmed to make it a tighter film. It may take me another twenty years to watch 'A Beautiful Mind' again, but I'm pretty sure one day I will.

"Classes will dull your mind, destroy the potential for authentic creativity." A Beautiful Mind shows that Russel Crowe is a very complete actor. Not only can he play a ruthless by vengeance driven gladiator or a brutal cop, but he also delivers as a brilliant but asocial mathematician. He's not an actor, who turns everything he touches into gold, but he shines in a handful amazing movies. A Beautiful Mind has a great plot, where half of the time I don't even no what to think or believe. At times the movie grabs you by the throat and it doesn't let go. It's really intense. It's such a sad film also, and you sympathize with both main characters. The beautiful Jennifer Connelly plays Russell Crowe's wife and she shows so much loyalty, but on the other hand, she doesn't have much of a choice. She can't leave someone in that state. Hopefully this doesn't spoil to much. They are of course adopted from a real story, and maybe that's why they're such deep and well written characters. Jennifer Connelly did such an amazing job performing in this movie. While watching it, I thought to myself that she should have won an Oscar for it, to later find out she actually did. Ron Howard won the Oscar for best Director. He did a really great job and it's well deserved. I especially like the soundtrack. He uses such calm background music and it fits perfectly. It gives a real sad, but also soothing vibe. The last couple of scenes gave me so many chills (in a good way), even watching it for the second time. A Beautiful Mind is a beautiful movie. 9,6/10.