Affleck goest the full Eastwood in this able sophomore effort; Hall sparkles & Renner is a force to be reckoned with

Rating: 8/10 (28 September 2010)

THE TOWN (2010) *** Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Slaine, Owen Burke, Titus Welliver, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper. Well-executed sophomore effort by Affleck – going the full Eastwood (acting/directing/co-scripting adaptation of Chuck Hogan's novel "Prince of Thieves" with Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard) – about a team of Boston-area bank robbers whose latest knockoff has them in hot water namely in the lovely form of Hall (aces), a bank teller they hold hostage (and Affleck falls for) that has the feds (led by tenacious Hamm) hot on their tracks. Affleck pulls off the yeoman workload with finesse and allows his characters room to mix and mingle (notably a superb turn by hot-headed Renner as his childhood chum and loose cannon). Using the locations and local flavor to his reckoning the film feels fresh in an otherwise been-there-done-that caper drama.