Fair-to-middling heist/drama

Rating: 7/10 (16 April 2011)

This is a fair heist movie. Ben Affleck again shows a light touch in teasing good performances out of actors, in pacing movies, and in writing a movie with a fair degree of sensitivity. He is very good as a director. I wouldn't say that this is the best heist/drama that I've ever seen. However, it's a fair way to spend a couple of hours and this isn't a film that is a great waste of time.
Affleck gets some good acting from Jeremy Renner as his best buddy James and from Blake Lively, a down-on-her-luck girl supposed-to-be-the whore with the heart of gold. He is also quite good himself as the cool, tough leader of his crew which is composed of long-time friends who have worked in that group for a long time. Jon Hamm is serviceable, though not particularly notable as FBI investigator Adam Frawley. He's a competent, focused detective up to the task of tracking down very skilled bank robbers. Affleck is Doug, the leader of a successful, accomplished bank robber crew composed of longtime friends who have operated as a group for some time. The group's security is compromised when, in a heist gone wrong, Doug takes a hostage, but then, in order to insure that the hostage does not give away the crew, he tracks the hostage down but then becomes involved with her (Rebecca Hall of "Frost/Nixon" as Claire). This relationship ultimately puts the crew in Frawley's cross-hairs.
Ultimately, Doug and Adam are both sniffing around all available options, looking for clues as to whether their opposite number knows what they are up to. I found myself comparing the film unfavorably to "Heat" in that the crew was not as sophisticated. I also thought that the plot of "Heat" was more byzantine and brilliant, but that said, this is a serviceable crime drama with good performances, fair writing, and an interesting plot. I think that Affleck has again shown himself to be an excellent director although I do think his crime drama here is a bit derivative.