A Boston crime family excels at bank robbery, but nobody is perfect. How will they continue while keeping ahead of the cops?

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2011)

Powerful and distinct characters richly portray a life of crime in Boston in this gripping tale of expert bank robbers trying to stay one-step ahead of an ever escalating police manhunt.
It's a challenging tale of Good vs. Bad vs. Worse when our mastermind bank criminal (Ben Affleck) decides he's had enough of his seedy, immoral life and wants to change for the better. But can he escape from not only the cops who are banging at the door, but the cohorts who depend on him and refuse their blessings for his departure? "The Town" is a well-done movie which is sometimes hard to understand the thick accents and mumbled words. However the storyline is easy to follow, mostly linear, well-acted with some tense moments as we fear discovery and capture for our criminals. Interesting that we root for Ben Affleck's character, because in spite of all his robberies and crime he has a soft heart and desires change. It's revealed that he fell into this lifestyle, and so we feel forgiveness is allowed.
Compared to something like Oceans 11, the heists pulled off seem relatively simple - especially the grandest theft of the movie, which was just too easy. I also felt a little more could have been done with plot elements like the give-away tattoo and the potential for the intelligent girlfriend to discover the true identity of her boyfriend.
But what little there is to criticize is easily compensated for with excellent action and an intriguing plot. We seem to be eternally interested in geniuses (even if their smarts are in the field of robbery.) Car chases, ambushes, gun fights, disguises, crime families... what's not to like!