My Kind of Town

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2011)

Synopsis: After pulling his last heist, bank robber Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) seeks out hostage and potential witness Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). In finding out what she knows he unwittingly begins to fall for her which angers his partners in crime, specifically hothead James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) who thanks to Doug's former relationship with his sister Krista (Blake Lively), feels betrayed. Doug's problems begin to escalate as he attempts keep his identity a secret from Claire while dodging FBI Agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) and local mob boss "Fergie" (Pete Postlethwaile) who forces him to pull one last heist. Buzz: The "Superman" persona that Ben Affleck usually exudes in every role he plays is actually believable in the Boston setting he's obviously accustomed and comfortable with. Although Jon Hamm's FBI agent comes off as a pompous version of his "Mad Men" counterpart and Blake Lively is obviously miscast as former lover who judging from her age would have put Affleck in the can long ago for statutory rape. It is however Jeremy Renner that steals more than bank money as he walks away with every scene he's in. Unfortunately Rebecca Hall manages to get as lost in the shuffle as she did in Woody Allen's Vicky Christina Barcelona. Adding great support are Chris Cooper as Affleck's interred father and of course the very visual Postlethwaile, whose face can be found in the dictionary under "Character Actor". Verdict: Although Affleck and Renner's performances are enough to carry the day, it is the story that sells the movie. The twists, turns, double-crosses and downright action are all interwoven into a tight script also penned by Affleck. In addition, Affleck's direction behind the camera has some nice touches of creative expression and style that he obviously picked up after years of performing in front of it. In addition, the film's production values, which include car chases, explosions and various shots of Fenway Park during an actual Red Sox game will leave even non "bean town" fans impressed. The ending is somewhat predictable, yet satisfying and all in all, worth the wait. Did you know? Jeremy Renner decided to surround himself with actual convicted bank robbers in Charlestown for research reasons and to help him nail the accent.