Something to be desired...

Rating: 6/10 (23 September 2010)

Having seen the IMDb rating and reading reviews likening The Town to "Heat meets The Departed", I must say I was sorely disappointed after viewing this film. That is not to say, of course, that The Town is a horrible film. I was a sobbing mess after seeing Inception. The thing is that while films these days are dashingly mediocre at best - that is - not too sore on the eyes but always leaving something to be desired, they are chopped up to be too much too fast. How long did they preview this film before it dropped? How much hype did it receive? More often these days than not, the answers to those questions are a lot more than the overall satisfaction the film itself delivers. We'll see what value these films hold in time, but me not being here to criticize the movie industry as a whole – let's get right down to it.
The Town is a movie more based on story than anything. There are really no quirky one-liners (save the usual crap talking and drug/sex references). No outrageous car scenes (those that do occur are mild). No dainty, prolonged sex scenes. Although, having said that, The Town isn't really a thinking man's movie either. While the story is what the film's strong point is: the brutal honesty is there isn't much there. But then again, as my girlfriend who I saw the film with tonight pointed out, maybe that's what's great about it. It's clean and good, quick and simple. Fair enough, but then, this isn't what this is about, is it? It's about being tricked into believing Mr. Affleck has made the next catholic classic. Jeremy Renner toting a Tec-Nine and bursting it randomly in his coke-head characters quirky fashion easily has to be the best part of this movie, and I CAN'T STAND Renner. Anyway, nothing about the plot differs much from "Set It Off meets any-run-of-the-mill-girl-gets-with-her-hostage-taker" flicks out there. The real evidence in this is that Casey Affleck chose not to appear in the movie. That's what I asked myself before, and answered shortly after watching this film. Would Michael Mann's brother miss out on a pivotal role in a movie such as Heat to follow Joaquin Phoenix around? I think not.
**Also, the flashback scenes didn't really affect the movie and were thrown in at the oddest, most redundant of times. I only say this because they added no real knowledge or meaning to what was already known.