Ben Affleck showed he had directing chops with 2007's magnificent Gone Baby Gone and this year's The town shows that GBG was no one time wonder for Affleck in the director's chair. The film communicates a strong connection between the horror of robbery in a town and those that run the business. Affleck does a superb job acting as does Rebecca Hall as Affleck's love interest and hostage from earlier in the film. The biggest asset to the film though is Jeremy Renner who ends up being a bit of a character to root for and not sympathize with or hate. It's his story that brings together the story's strong message. Jon Hamm and Titus Welliver are also good in their roles. The one role that doesn't work well is Blake Lively's as she is thrown in as just a connection between everyone but not given a notable backstory to really care enough for her. While it has strong dialogue, the film also achieves with thrilling and not over-the-top action pieces that bring messages in the film to a much brighter light. It is definitely on par with Gone Baby Gone and is one of the best films of the year. Hopefully Affleck or some actors in the film will get some recognition this time. ****

Cool. I can't wait to see it.

It's not as good as Gone Baby Gone, and it doesn't really earn its ending, but it's a good little heist thriller with some great direction by Affleck. The final heist and chase is as tense as anything I've seen this year.

B+

Ben Affleck seems to be continuing to perfect his sweet little formula of overcooked melodrama and savage intensity with The Town on the heels of Gone, Baby Gone.

I'd say they're both about equally as good - - which means very, very good... but not great.

After Ben Affleck, who's performance was splendid, the surrounding acting verged on cartoonish, with Jeremy Renner playing the bad guy like a demented leprechaun from hell. Pete Postlethwaite rocking his usual schtick. And finally, Jon Hamm playing his FBI agent as an outright Looney Tunes character. (Admittedly, Rebecca Hall played a very charming romantic interest, at least until she didn't anymore.)

The showy writing, while it kept you guessing, kept flashing it's inner scaffolding and ultimately betrayed this viewer's suspension of disbelief.

Nonetheless... as the cowboy says: this whole creaky old wagon train 'o film, held together with nothing but bailin' twine and sheep spit, manages to cross the finish line with a darn right dash of respectability...


4 out of 5.

This sums up the film pretty well.

So who do you all think did deliver the best performance in the film?

My vote goes to Jeremy Renner with Rebecca Hall being second.

What you said.

Lecter, you should know better than to put an off-topic derail question like this in the review thread. Cinemania is the proper place for this.

Aren't you supposed to be some sort of mod or admin around here?

The discussion pertains to the qualities of the film.

So which do you all think did deliver the best heist setting in the film?

My vote goes to Fenway Park with the North End armored car robbery being second.

So what do you all think did deliver the best soundtrack accompaniment in the film?

My vote goes to "Whatcha Say" with "99 Bottles" being second.

So who do you all think did deliver the best minor performance in the film?

My vote goes to Brian Scannell as Henry with Jack Neary as Arnold Washton being second.

Okay, crazy man.

Them be fighting words!

I liked Gone Baby Gone better, but this was still pretty awesome.

Very good, but I agree with the consensus - Gone Baby Gone was much better and emotionally effective. Something was missing from this that I can't quite put my finger on, despite phenomenal performances from the entire ensemble. Still, definitely worth seeing. B+

Gone Baby Gone has superior plot, as the story here is quite straight forward, which the trailer pretty much all gave away. However, it is executed very well: the actions, the pacing, the performances (especially Jeremy Renner's). A good one.

It's no Heat, to be sure, but it's decent - and certainly better than the heavy-handed moral posturing of Gone Baby Gone. But at no point did I sympathize with or root for Affleck's character, which is kinda the point of the film. Maybe it's my own problems with him as an actor (as well as my deep man-crush on Jon Hamm), but the central conceit of the movie falls apart by attempting to make Affleck into some sort of flawed hero. He just doesn't have the charisma or the acting chops. Blame the director.

Renner was terrific, though.

THE TOWN - 8/10 (A-)

Not as great as GONE BABY GONE, IMO, and something about it feels a tad "off," but overall I still thought it was great. I loved Rebecca Hall in it. She's such a charmer. Renner was also great, which is to be expected.

I will say that after seeing it the extremely high Rotten Tomatoes rating is a bit surprising. I mean, I could see 74%-80%, but a whopping 94% currently? This is a very good film that I liked a lot, but it's not THAT good.

It's literally exactly what I expected. Certainly 'good', above average. But I felt like I knew the whole plot from the start. And Affleck is a way better director than actor. He's stone face here, like the Angel to Rebecca Hall's Buffy. And I don't mean that in a good way.

Affleck escapes the last two robberies a bit too miraculously. Not a big deal cause those were great scenes, but yea...

I feel like there's a great movie hidden in here, as it stands it's merely good and likely will be a forgettable also-ran in a few years

9/10 -> A-

It's not even trying to put out something original to the story, but I wasn't bothered by it. The acting, direction, editing - it's all top notch and the movie is compelling from start to finish.

I wasn't really impressed. But I didn't hate it though.

B-

Has anyone watched the extended cut? I just blind bought it today and wasn't sure which version to watch.

Too serious to be an action ramp, and too fucking ridiculous to be a Serious Drama. The Town walks a well-trodden path, and still can't find its way out of the woods. Simple concepts like character development and bare bones believability are thrown out the window. I recently said I love camp, but The Town doesn't seem to realize how fundamentally silly it is.

Who the hell really thinks that organized crime in Boston is concentrated in one boutique?

How could these doofuses possibly think they could get away with these simultaneous bank robberies... When they're being interrogated by the feds, no less! And how could anyone know when two of these guys primary character traits are 'bald' and 'fat & bald.'

Sure, the action scenes were competent on a technical level... But overall this was a big step down from Gone Baby Gone.