Ben Affleck is the star of the reviews of Gone Baby Gone, even though he's the director of the movie. Writes Jack Mathews in the New York Daily News: "Ben Affleck won an Oscar for the Good Will Hunting script he co-wrote with Matt Damon, but this is his first outing behind the camera. Whatever you think of his acting, he's got real chops as a filmmaker. The movie has energy, pace, some insanely well-choreographed action sequences, outstanding performances and a couple of speeches that belong in the pulp fiction hall of fame." Claudia Puig in USA Today remarks: "Ben Affleck has come of age as a director." And Stephen Hunter in the Washington Post comments that Affleck "shows that even if he never developed a memorable performance when he was in front of the camera, he was paying attention to what was going on behind it."