Siskel and Ebert once ran a special show entitled Movies I'm Embarrassed to Admit I Liked. I suppose that if I composed such a list of guilty pleasures, this one would be one of them . . . but upon reflection, it's really a lot better than that. Fifteen year-old science prodigy Mitch (Gabe Jarret) is recruited by ambitious college professor William Atherton (in yet another of his patented roles as a loathsome character) to work on the professor's prize laser project, not knowing that the prof is really developing a government weapon. Along the way, Mitch is befriended by Chris (Val Kilmer), another prodigy a few years his senior who teaches the Mitch how to loosen up.　　This could have degenerated into nothing more than just another teen revenge comedy, but there's so much more the dialogue is laced with sharp wit; there are some lovely scenes that have nothing to do with the story yet are carefully set up, almost as blackouts (e.g., Mitch goes to a lecture at which a few students have left tape recorders instead of attending; later, at another lecture there are more tape recorders than students; and, in a final scene, one large tape recorder gives the lecture to a room populated by nothing but other small recorders!); and throw-away scenes that make you want to stop and back up the tape (e.g., Chris off-handedly cutting a slice off a bar of solid nitrogen to make a slug for the coffee machine).　　It's also one of the few movies to boast the presence of the memorable Michelle Meyerink -- as Jordan, the girl-nerd who made being smart and female something to be emulated. And there's Tears for Fears great song, Everybody Wants to Rule the World providing the perfect coda as the closing credits begin to roll . . . . Yes really now, what's there to be embarrassed about

《天才反击》（Gifted）并非一部充满惊险刺激动作场面的电影，而是一部温情脉脉、探讨家庭、教育和自我价值的剧情片。影片讲述了弗兰克（克里斯·埃文斯饰）与他七岁的天才外甥女玛丽（麦肯娜·格雷斯饰）之间充满爱与挣扎的故事。

弗兰克是个平凡的木匠，独自抚养着他的外甥女玛丽。玛丽并非普通孩子，她拥有超乎寻常的数学天赋，甚至在七岁就展现出远超同龄人的数学能力。她能轻松解决复杂的数学问题，甚至能进行微积分计算，这令弗兰克既感到骄傲又感到担忧。

玛丽的母亲黛安（珍妮·斯蕾特饰）是玛丽的亲生母亲，也是一位数学天才。然而，黛安在追求学术成就的道路上付出了巨大的代价，最终精神崩溃，自杀身亡。弗兰克为了保护玛丽免受同样命运的困扰，决定让她过着正常孩子的童年生活，避免过早地将她推入充满压力的学术竞争中。他让玛丽就读普通小学，并尽量避免让她展现自己的天赋。

弗兰克的平静生活被黛安的母亲伊芙琳（琳达·艾蒙德饰）打破了。伊芙琳是一位退休的大学教授，对玛丽的天赋极其重视，她认为玛丽应该接受最严格的数学教育，并培养成为未来的数学家。她认为弗兰克的做法是扼杀天才，坚决要求将玛丽送进具有高强度学术训练的学校。

影片的冲突主要集中在弗兰克和伊芙琳之间。弗兰克坚持让玛丽拥有一个快乐的童年，享受正常的成长过程，他不希望玛丽重蹈母亲的覆辙，背负沉重的学术压力。他认为教育应该以孩子的幸福为出发点，而不是以成就为目的。而伊芙琳则坚信玛丽的天赋是上天赐予的礼物，应该充分开发利用，即使这可能会带来巨大的压力和牺牲。

影片通过弗兰克和伊芙琳的冲突，探讨了关于天才教育、家庭责任以及个人幸福的复杂议题。弗兰克的观点代表了一种更注重孩子身心健康和全面发展的教育理念，而伊芙琳的观点则代表了一种更注重学术成就和社会贡献的教育理念。这两种理念并没有绝对的对错，而是反映了不同价值观和教育理念之间的碰撞。

在法庭的监护权争夺中，影片展现了弗兰克对玛丽的爱和责任，以及他为了保护玛丽所做的努力。他展现了他作为监护人的责任心和对玛丽深沉的爱，他不惜一切代价保护玛丽的童年和幸福。他为玛丽争取到了一个平衡点，既能让她接触到适合她能力的教育，又不至于让她承受过重的压力。

影片的结局并非以绝对的胜利或失败告终，而是一种妥协和和解。弗兰克与伊芙琳最终达成了某种程度的理解，他们都意识到对玛丽的爱才是最重要的。玛丽也展现了她的独立性和思考能力，她能够在不同环境中找到属于自己的平衡点。

《天才反击》是一部感人至深的电影，它不仅仅是一部关于天才儿童的电影，更是一部关于家庭、爱、责任和自我价值的电影。它引发了观众对教育理念、家庭关系以及个人幸福的思考，并最终传递了爱与理解的珍贵价值。影片以其细腻的情感描写和精湛的演技，打动了无数观众的心。