The Town -- Review

When looking for a good heist film I also try to look for something that will either have me on the edge of my seat or something strong actors that the characters keep me entertained.  The Town is a film that gives you a handful of shining moments with it's characters and just enough suspense and action to keep you from walking out of the theater.

I will admit that the film does achieve it's goal of entertaining an audience, because I truly was entertained.  But the film had some holes that left me feeling a little cheated.  I found The Town to have built so much upon the idea of "suspension of disbelief" that it was almost a fantasy tale for criminals.  The logic, or lack there of, for FBI agents to focus all of their attention on one criminal team even though there is a boss seemed unbelievable to me.  Would the boss really never have been questioned at any point even though every guy they are going after has had some sort of connection back to him?  That wouldn't happen in The Sopranos. 

I love Jeremy Renner, and I would be lying if I said I went to see the film for any other reason (that being the main reason, and the other because I know several people who worked on the film).  I thought he pulled off the role in style, although he could have held back a little on the accent.  I almost felt like a pissing contest as to who could do a better accent when he was on screen with Affleck.  Even Affleck impressed me with his role as Doug MacRay.  He wasn't his usual mass-hole self and I actually found him tolerable which was a nice surprise because it's been quite a long time since I've been a fan of his.

But it wasn't the cast that kept me interested in the film.  Affleck brought the city of Boston to life.  I thought the with this being his second round as a director of a feature length film he did a pretty good job.  I have not seen all of Gone Baby Gone so I cannot compare, but unlike GBG I was actually able to get through all of The Town with minimal struggle.  I thought the story could have been a little cleaner and well developed, but over all I enjoyed the film.  I loves watching the city of Boston up on the big screen, and the chase sequence was probably my favorite part of the film.  It was also nice to see a few familiar faces up on the screen.


I give The Town 2.5 out of 5.  If you are looking for something this weekend I would say that The Town is a film that will at least entertain you.