The Town I'm going to start off by saying I'm very much aware of how much some people dislike Ben Affleck and think he is a horrible, talentless actor. While I do agree that he's made some ...questionable movie choices, I don't think he is that horrible of an actor. He did make a lot of movies in a short time and then his personal life went crazy and he was tabloid fodder while involved in Jennifer Lopez. That didn't help what people thought of him either. But he has changed. After he and Lopez broke up, he's managed to pretty much avoid the tabloids. He has been more selective with his projects and he's turned up in some good acting. He was really good in
Hollywoodland, a more understated role. He also directed an amazing movie in
Gone Baby Gone, a movie I still think is one of the best of 2007. I know people were skeptical about him directing, but as far as I'm concerned, he showed real talent with that movie. With his new movie,
The Town, he shows it wasn't just a fluke. He's a very talented director and if he keeps making movies like these two, he'll win an Oscar for directing some day. The Town is definitely one of the best movies of the year and it deserves to be seen.
The story, focused on a group of bank robbers living in Charlestown, a neighborhood of Boston, isn't the most original, but it is still highly entertaining. It is handled really well to make an engaging and complex movie. Doug and his crew rob armored cars and banks without leaving behind any evidence for the police and FBI. James, or Gem as he's sometimes called, is more violent and unpredictable, which is why they end up taking a hostage at one point. Things get more complicated when Doug begins a relationship with Claire and then decides that he wants out.
While some of what happens in the movie is predictable, there are several surprises that keep things from being predictable overall. Several things happen that I didn't expect. Those unexpected things work very well for what is going on. A few of the robberies that Doug and his crew pull off are shown. The first one is shown at the very beginning of the movie. The way they pull off the robbery is a bit different and helps to keep things interesting. The men wear masks that completely cover their faces. One time they wear skeleton masks and later they wear really creepy looking nun masks. There is something really freaky looking about those nun masks.
The action scenes are very well done and include one of the more impressive car chases that I've seen in a while. There are fights and shootings as well and people do get hurt. A few characters do get rather brutal at times, though there really isn't tons of violence in the movie. It just happens every so often in spurts.
The main characters are criminals. They, especially Doug, are complex and interesting and they manage to be likable at times. James is harder to like, but I did start feeling compassion for him at one point. The motivations for those characters is believable. Ben Affleck does a really good job with Doug. I think he's more talented than he's been given credit for. He also is one of the screenwriters for the movie. Jeremy Renner also does a really good job as James. Those two really have the most to do and their characters have a complicated relationship. All the acting is really well done. Blake Lively turns up in a few scenes as James's druggie sister. It isn't a ...pretty part, but she is really good in it.
The Town is a wonderfully well done crime thriller that definitely deserves to be seen. I think this one really makes it clear that Affleck has talent.
I did get a review posted on Epinions.
The Town By the way, anyone who hasn't seen
Gone Baby Gone yet really should watch it. It isn't a happy or even pleasant movie to watch, but it is very well done.
