The Town - Stadt ohne Gnade

To say that The Town is everything Takers tried to be and failed at would actually be an insult to Ben Affleck's latest film. Mentioning that bland rehashing in the same breath would imply they even exist on the same plane, but the honest truth is this gritty Boston crime drama is something special and the best film of the early fall season.

Affleck's first foray into directing with the Dennis Lehane adaptation Gone Baby Gone shocked viewers and the critical community in kind, showing that a fading acting career does not mean one is down-and-out in Hollywood. Affleck marries his two passions in The Town, directing, producing and writing the film as well as starring in the lead role, his first since 2003's Paycheck. He owns this comeback performance, successfully wiping any lingering distaste from duds like Daredevil or Gigli. This is by no means a one-man show, but The Town has nothing close to a weak link, in fact, this may be one of the finest pieces of ensemble acting in years.

Joining Affleck in a supporting role is Jeremy Renner, fresh off his best actor Oscar nomination for The Hurt Locker and he beyond a doubt proves he is no one-hit wonder. This is Oscar-worthy acting yet again for Renner, nailing his Boston accent along with his loose-cannon mentality. He is terrifying, but impossible to pry your eyes away from. The most shocking revelation comes from Blake Lively (TV's "Gossip Girl") as a doped-up mother with more than a few issues. She is not only unrecognizable, but owns her role, never calling attention to her drastic deviation from type. Substantial buzz was also placed in the way of John Hamm from the acclaimed television drama Mad Men. He is sufficiently pompous as a dedicated FBI agent also scoring a number of the films laughs.

Before I wander too much further into specifics, the characters in The Town populate a Boston suburb called Charlestown, which an introductory message informs us, is the world-center for bank robbers. Affleck's Doug MacRay heads a team of those in such a profession including Renner as James Coughlin and two others played by Slaine, and Owen Burke. During one of their routine bank heists, they are forced to take a hostage (Rebecca Hall) during their hasty escape. Afterwards, to make sure she does not know anything incriminating following her release from captivity, MacRay follows her and inadvertently falls for her in the process.

There is nothing particularly revelatory about The Town, there are few surprises or much that deviates from a standard crime drama. But Affleck directs with such skill and confidence while showcasing yet another peek into suburban Boston that it is never less than riveting. There is an overlying sense of impeding dread that perforates The Town and a handful of sensational action sequences do little to let up the firm grasp the film has on our windpipes. Propelled by faultless acting and a pitch- perfect script, this slice of the Boston criminal underworld is everything for which we could have hoped following such a bland summer. Affleck has always been a star, and if he continues to produce films of this pedigree, then there might be hope for the movies yet.

Despite not having seen Gone Baby Gone, I've heard a lot of good things about Ben Affleck's switch to directing and so I decided to watch The Town, which put simply is about band robbers but to expand on that, the film is also about the leader of the group, played by Ben Affleck.

When watching the trailer it easy to draw comparisons to Heat and The Departed but this is different. Many films about crime make the audience side either the police or the criminals yet The Town allows the audience to see people from both sides of the law fairly. Jon Hamm plays an honest working FBI officer while Ben Affleck plays the criminal. The film is shot predominately from the criminals perspective, therefore the audience feel the same sense of urgency that they do but we don't want to see them gun down the FBI and police and let them get away with their crimes. It is a difficult challenge for the director to deal with but he does it well and the end result is very good.

The entire cast are all fantastic even when given smaller roles, for example Chris Cooper and the late Pete Postlethwaite steel the scenes that they are in. Jeremy Renner has earned a lot of attention from his role and he deserves it, giving an honest performance, which clearly took a lot of research to perfect. An almost unrecognisable Blake Lively and Rebecca Hall are both great. Ben Affleck and Jon Hamm as the opposing forces are also great but it is Renner's performance that stands out.

As a crime film, it is important that the action doesn't turn the whole film into an all guns blazing film. The action scenes are handed pretty well and the car chases through the minor roads of Boston are really exciting to watch.

The Town is not only only a solid action/ crime film but also marks Affleck as a great director. I strongly recommend this film if you are interested in the genre. While it is not perfect, it does so much well, that you would be missing out if you didn't see this.

I had a trip to 'the town' last night and well, it is surprisingly entertaining. I still can't believe Ben Affleck can pull off everything (story, screenplay, direction, starring in a lead role) with such an ease. Three years after his debut directional venture 'Gone Baby Gone', Ben comes up with an ever better one this time.

A perfect combo of sold story, captivating screenplay, amazing writing, brilliant character development, good emotional content and brilliant cinematography (watch out for the shaky camera, this is the best camera work I've seen after 'Bourne' series) all together delivers an entertaining action thriller...worth a watch.

Four friends Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), Albert Magloan (Slaine) and Desmond Elden (Owen Burke) are robbers working the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston. In their latest job, they take the bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage and then let her go. Doug fake dates Claire to make sure she can't ID them. He's also having sex with James' drugged out sister Krista Coughlin (Blake Lively). Meanwhile they are being investigated by the FBI led by Agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm).

This is a richly character driven crime thriller. Ben Affleck knows these characters well. And acting with the intense Jeremy Renner makes Affleck better. The only actor who looks out of place is Blake Lively. She just can't get rid of that Cali feel and her accent sounds terrible. Brit Rebecca Hall does a better job than her. The action is exciting. And the story is riveting. But it's the characters and the actors that are so engaging.

The Town... The movie is good, no doubt about it. It was well-acted, well-written, and all around just a fantastic movie. Problem is, albeit the fantastic directing, it's contrived. I say that with a sense of greatness though, because although being this, is actually does it in a good way. Ben Affleck - yeah, the actor! - directs, and deserves praise. Why? Well he actually made a good movie, simple and to the point. But instead of going on and on about how good (but formulaic) the film is, I'm just going to break down the good things, and why Ben Affleck needs to direct more movies.

Story: It's just easy to follow. The story was simple and easy to follow, and Ben Affleck knows this. So he DOES this. Movies nowadays think the key to making and film (and winning over the critics) is to create all these absurd quick edits and complex back flashes to what, when, and where something happened, then quickly cut to a twist, back again. It's confusing. No one really wants that. So instead of doing this, he creates a story that's easy and simple to follow. That's exactly what I wanted.

Acting: Ben Affleck directs and stars. He did a great job on both parts, and he sets up the cast perfectly. First off, there's no cringe-worthy scenes. We are following the characters throughout, and there isn't no crazy stuff the characters do or say that we question. A lot of movies do that, The Town knows exactly what not to do. It was real too, leading me too...

Realism: Yup. The Town knows how to create this effect? How does it create this effect? Well I'll tell you! The Town knows not to put in cheesy CGI effects. Everything lots realistic and gritty. You feel like your sucked into the situation of the characters. That's what films are SUPPOSED to do, and the objection is not to make us entertained. Movies are supposed to be an experience, and The Town knew what to do.

Romance: I cannot believe I am putting this on here, but it counts. The Town isn't confused with just being a crime-thriller. It knows it's strengths and it's weaknesses. It's a genre-binder. It binds together what we want to watch, too. Action, drama, romance, and more drama. What more could you exactly want? The movie has it all.

If you can get past that the movie is a bit contrived, it knows how to push this thing out of the way. It's simplistic, gritty, and highly realistic. Yup, this is a Ben Affleck movie and I'm proud to say it. The movie was fantastic though, and if wasn't so clichéd in some parts, maybe it would become a masterpiece. But it did what it did, as pushed boundaries no movie has dared to do. So that sets it, go see it. Recommended for all. 8/10.