The Town is a successful crime thriller

Rating: 8/10 (25 October 2010)

The Town is a crime thriller about a team of bank robbers in Boston area. The story centers around 3 main characters, Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) and James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner). Doug and James are professional bank robbers but they are opposite characters. Doug, even though a criminal, is portrayed as a likable, charming character. We see more of his positive qualities: he refrains from harming other people. Doug, on the other hand, is a truly corrupt character who enjoys hurting other people.
A lot of people point out the similarities between The Town and Heat and claim The Town is an imitation of Heat. Although there are some similarities I think this is inevitable since both movies are about a team of bank robbers and there will be bank robbery, shoot-out and car chase scenes and a romantic love affair always adds a flavor to stories. I actually liked The Town better than Heat. I thought Heat was too long; the story was drawn-out needlessly which ruined its pace and took away from the action. The Town, on the other hand, focuses more on the action. I also think action scenes in The Town are better and more suspenseful.
If you like crime thrillers, you should definitely check this one out. You will find The Town is a decent, well-directed, entertaining movie.