Hit and miss

Rating: 6/10 (12 February 2011)

I watched The Town at least a month ago and I have only now (after a second viewing) made up my mind as to what I thought about it. I think I felt confused by all the outrage that poured out from the general public when it was not nominated for an Oscar, while people were blasting the academy for ignoring it I was thinking did I watch the same movie that you guys watched? That is not to say I didn't like The Town, I did, but I don't understand the why people think it is up there with movies such as Black Swan, The kings Speech and The fighter.
The Town gets a lot right. It looks amazing and I think that Ben Affleck has done an incredible job directing this movie, and coming from me that means something because I don't really like him that much. He nailed the gritty, corrupted, underground world of criminals pretty darn well, and some of the filming is simply beautiful. The action and chase sequences are top draw, they are probably the best part of the movie and they have put The Town up there with the best action movies of last year.
The acting is generally good, Affleck is OK, I have never really seen a strong performance for him and that opinion of him still has not changed, but for me what he lacks in acting skills he makes up for in directing talent. Again Rebecca Hall was alright, it was not a commanding performance but also nothing to be ashamed of. If I am honest I do not think she was given enough to work with and it all felt a little restrained.
The stand out actors in The Town are the supporting cast. Jon Hamm is perfect as the determined FBI agent. Blake Lively is a revelation in this, I have only known her as one of the annoying girls in Gossip girl, but in this she shows promise. Her portrayal of a drug addict and desperate mother was one of the stand outs in this film.
The real star of this movie though (unsurprisingly) is Jeremy Renner, his performance is enough to make you sit on the edge of your seat. You never know what James could do, he seems controlled and loyal to his friends and family, but underneath all that is a monster wanting to be set free. Watching him battle with the worse sides of himself is truly brilliant. Renner is deserving of his Oscar nomination although maybe not the win.
But for every great performance and car chase in this film there is still something wrong with it all. The movie concentrates on the romance between Doug and Claire, which feels a bit empty. I get the feeling that this romance was not what the film was really about, the story here was the friendship between Doug and James, but it is not really looked at in detail which is a shame because if it was it could of made the different to the academy, in my opinion at least Also, I feel like nothing is given enough time or explanation and this made me not care about the characters as much as I should have.
I feel almost sad that the town did not fulfil the potential it had, I mean it was there and the bits that were good were amazing, but it was never enough. The Town kind of just floats along showing you glimpses of brilliance but never really giving you the goods.