HK Neo Reviews: The Town

Rating: 6/10 (14 March 2011)

It seems like 2 Hong Kong films that I have seen before Call it déjà vu or whatever, but the fact is clear. The latest Ben Affleck's directorial and starring effort in The Town, seems far to alike to a Andy Lau's vehicle and a separate Richie Ren's movie combined. Sure, the film is well paced, quite entertaining, but one cannot stop thinking about the aforementioned motive. Putting this aside, The Town is actually quite decent, well produced, well directed and a story that is complicated enough to keep the audience at their seats. However, something seems to be lacking to elevate the film further up the scale. The chases are fun, so are the masks (most notably the ironic nun's masks to rob the bank), but one thing that is safe to proclaim is that Ben Affleck is officially a better director than actor. Whenever on screen, Affleck is far too wooden to convince, but the film is extremely well directed.
Basically, The Town tries hard to be creative and goes the route normally not taken by Hollywood standards. However, when put into context, this is really one simple film expressed in a complicated fashion. While this isn't a bad thing, but the characters despite plenty of focus, we feel nothing for. There is no emotional connection that made Affleck's previous directorial effort far more effective and touching. The film also does not seem real and rational. I know love is not meant to be rational, but the guy is a murderer, bank robber and kidnapper for god sake. Will you still want to be with him? For me, this film seems to focus too much on Affleck's wooden range and subsequently even discounting the déjà vu factor, The Town is at best average and nothing more(Neo 2010)
I rate it 6/10

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