Solid film

Rating: 7/10 (27 September 2010)

Ben Affleck's sophomore directorial effort is a solid one. He makes good use of his name in showbiz to put together a great cast and weave an entertaining story with no shortage of the elements of what a good heist film should be. The Town centers around a group of friends who rob banks and cause mayhem in the town of Charlestown. When the gang's leader, Doug MacCray (Affleck), gets too involved with a witness to one of their robberies (Hall) things get heated within the group as well as outside it, as the FBI begins to crack down on these robberies. The Town, while never skimping on the high quality, fast paced, action, ends up being a strongly character driven story, making it a good heist film to watch, while also delivering a substantial amount of intelligence that many films of this genre lack.
I think it's safe to say that Affleck has proved himself much more worthy of the director chair rather than an acting role. Obviously Affleck stars in this film and is as mediocre as you'd expect (no offense to the guy, I respect his other talents) but he by no means drags the film down. Plus the rest of the cast makes up for anything his acting can't bring to the table. Jeremy Renner, in particular, plays his role as Affleck's short tempered best friend incredibly well. The relationship between these two is the focus of the film, and what they do branches out to the other characters, most of which play an important role. The handsomely brilliant Jon Hamm plays the hard boiled FBI agent in charge of bringing down these criminals by whatever means necessary. He fits the key role of the morally skewed cop that serves to elevate the popularity of our anti-hero protagonists. Rebecca Hall plays the bank clerk who is taken hostage by Affleck and his crew at the beginning of the film, not knowing that she'd fall for the leader of this crew later. The relationship between Affleck and Hall was the only thing I didn't completely buy as far as character development goes, but this storyline served it's purpose, and played an important role in the cathartic ending of the film.
There is honestly nothing I can really criticize The Town for. Affleck's directing is effective, the dialouge is viscerally excellent, the film stands out in its effluent character development, and the acting is superb. The Town possesses all the elements of a good film that is well worth the watch. It's an effective blend of story and action, just what is needed in a good heist film. The Town is in no way groundbreaking and it doesn't revolutionize the genre, but it holds its own against the greats of the genre and fits right in with the criteria for a good story about cops and robbers. In this regard I can most highly commend this film for not trying to be more than it was. This movie never forgets what kind of movie it is, and it doesn't try to soar to new heights. It serves to exemplify what this genre is all about, and is an all around solid film.