The Town

Ben Affleck's second feature film as a director -- if nothing else -- proves he's no fluke. In all the ways his sincere and revealing debut "Gone Baby Gone" succeeds, so does "The Town." Both are Boston-based crime dramas that are both touchingly dramatic at times yet gripping at others. More impressive with his work on "The Town," however, is that it proves he could just as easily go on to direct an action blockbuster as he could an Oscar-winning drama.

It starts with the cast and the performances he gets from them. In 2007, he helped Amy Ryan to a supporting actress nomination, and that's ignoring the other talents in the film such as Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan and Ed Harris. In "The Town," he gets Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner in his first major film since his breakout in "The Hurt Locker" and Jon Hamm in his first major film since TV's "Mad Men" took off. He also gets a pair of up-and-comers in Rebecca Hall and "Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively. And that's not to mention Pete Postelthwaite and Chris Cooper. Next to "Inception," it's the best ensemble cast of the year.

Based on the Chuck Hogan novel "Prince of Thieves," the film follows a team of bank robbers from Charlestown, an area notorious for grooming the best at intercepting armored cars and taking down banks. As with "Gone Baby Gone," also based on a novel (by Dennis Lehane), the city of Boston and the people and culture are as important to Affleck as the plot. He's sure to let shots of the Charlestown bridge and Fenway Park soak in amidst the ever-building pinch the main characters are in.

Doug MacRay (Affleck) and his buddy Jim (Renner) and a couple others pull off a bank job in the opening scene, but when it doesn't go exactly as planned, they're forced to kidnap the bank manager (Hall). To make sure she didn't see anything and can hand them on a platter to the feds (led by Jon Hamm's Special Agent Frawley), Doug trails her, only to find himself falling for her.

"The Town" is one of those crime dramas/bank-job action films that while not revelatory for the genre, executes everything well and sticks to a character-driven story in order to stay meaningful. Perhaps the reason it works so well is because it floats in between the drama, never becoming too much of a guns 'n robbers flick, but also not slipping into crime melodrama for too long. Affleck's performance as MacRay acts in accordance; it's tastefully understated and he lets go of the machismo that has marred a few of his previous roles.

The film also has an unexpected but much appreciated sense of humor. In a mile-a-minute crime drama/thriller, you don't expect to laugh the way you will in "The Town," which speaks even more to the writing and Affleck's versatility. Even if there are some plot conventions and no-surprise characters (as good as Hamm is, he's playing every other quick-witted FBI guy in films), the dialogue is sharp, the story is exciting and the way we are so easily able to see things from MacRay's perspective as the bank robber who wants out makes up for any use of convention as a crutch.

There's no doubt that if "The Town" becomes a success that studios will seek out Affleck for some more high-profile projects and it will certainly be interesting to see how he handles material not rooted in Boston sub-culture. As long as he continues to get such memorable performances out of his actors, he'll be doing things on the other end of the camera for a long time to come.

~Steven C

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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.

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.

Great acting and good directing and the way the director said the sequence of the scenes made it more interesting to me and your relationship and this movie makes me think a lot about when life was more than just digital communication I think more than justice social media or things like that I know that this subject is not related to the movie in some ways but this movie makes me so nostalgic to the era of its release because back when I think in this era I feel like I was like more involved reality than in digital world we live in I know it's not that old to say this movie give me that feeling but it really did and overall it's a beautiful movie and a great watch it deserves totally your time and it's worth you watching thank you for reading.

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.