The Town: 7/10

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2010)

This is Ben Affleck's sophomore film as a director, unlike its predecessor GONE BABY GONE (2007), this time he also takes the leading role. Generally speaking, I think Ben is on his way to become next Clint Eastwood and could be more appropriate as a director than an actor although he delivers a quite convincing performance most of the time, nevertheless, in a much more encouraging extent, this film delightedly proves that Ben Affleck is competent as a more versatile director.
The heist story can not be a novelty, the whole return of a prodigal son is a mere platitude, to my surprise I do enjoy the entire process although 150 minutes is a tad too long (I saw the DVD extended cut), the film has yet achieved a sparkling success on the box office, ($91,947,016, North American alone, which is a prodigious leap from GONE BABY GONE $20,300,218).
The shining star of the film is Jeremy Renner, given the fact that his role is a stereotyped bandit, but his portrayal endows his character a very intense collision against others (especially in a positive way to steal the thunder of poor Ben); Rebecca Hall again solidifies her status as the best among her peers, the sparks between her and Ben are adorable and make everything unbelievably convincing. Blake Lively also contributes her dramatic turn as a low-class prostitute with a baby girl; by contrast, Ben's acting is not worth mentioning.
The film is well-done from all aspects (particularly the cinematography and the rapid but precise editing), my only complain is that there is nothing new or ideographic from the genre, good luck on the Oscars next year!