Matt Damon: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

1. John Grady Cole - All The Pretty Horses

Cormac McCarthy’s a powerhouse of modern American fiction, and there’s been several amazing films made of his complex work. But just as I can’t seem to actually get through the Border Trilogy - it’s just... so... heavy... - neither can Hollywood seem to adapt it.

Billy Bob Thornton’s adaptation of the first book is a trawl, a bland romance film with nothing more than kinda pretty scenery to draw you in (and no, that’s not the meaning behind the title).

Damon’s a key part of this tepid-ness. His accent isn’t atrocious, but boy is it grating, and in his pretty-boy, (no, still not the meaning) pre-Bourne phase looks lost. Cole's not necessarily meant to be a fountain of charisma, but neither should he be a vacuum.

The actor would later decry the decision by Harvey Weinstein to cut an hour of the film out to make it come in under two hours, although I'm doubtful that extra length could have saved it or his performance.

What's your favourite Matt Damon performance? What's your least favourite? Share you picks down in the comments.