The Town (2010) Review

director: Ben Affleck

writers: Ben Affleck, Peter Craig, Aaron Stockard

starring: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, John Hamm

genre: Crime, Drama

Not many films get your attention without having something of a particular interest to you. The Town managed to got my attention due it being made by Ben Affleck. After his debut film Gone Baby Gone (2007) Affleck now directs himself as well and proves to audiences once again that he is not only worth noticing in front of the camera but also behind. In my eyes not only does he shows skill but promise for a long and successful career as a filmmaker.

Set in Charlestown, Boston the highest robbery filled city in the U.S. Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) and his crew of bank robbers are on the prowl for bank jobs. On one of their jobs they have a suspicious witness Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) that needs a close eye. Doug is on the job but gets to close to the mark. On the tail of the crew is F.B.I. agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) that wont give up until he puts the bank crew behind bars. With the heat getting close to the crew Doug's best friend and fellow bank robber James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) decides its time for more bank robbery's. But with more jobs and the resulting heat only make it much more clear to Doug to get out the game while he can.

Ben Affleck has gotten a lot of flack in his film career. From his good looks, to his supposed bad movie choices and performances and to the well known publicity ridden relationship with Jennifer Lopez. For a while Ben just couldnt get a break. Things managed to change for the better and not very oddly after his fall with Lopez. Married to Jennifer Garner now, getting better and more respected acting parts and getting his directing career going have all payed off. The Town shows Affleck to be in command of his film with powerful performances, a intriguing plot and a good eye for action and drama.

Many might compare some of the scenes of the film to be a little reminiscent of the film Heat (1995) and the plot to be formulaic and clichéd at times. But Hollywood was built on films like these and thats one of the problems with films today. Films mostly of the Hollywood system deal with silly sub plots, have unrealistic clichéd scenarios that never focuses on the characters. Affleck instead presents an ordinary story and makes it about the characters because in the end it's there story. If it doesn't make sense within the story for the characters it wont make any more sense to us.

The Town may not be your cup of tea but its nonetheless a very well made film. Affleck handles the action and suspense better than expected and like with his previous film knows how to get performances from his cast. This is recommend to anybody who is in the mood for a serious film and for a film that keeps it simple and gets it right than going overboard and being a piece of crap.

Personal Rating:

Review by Paul