SYNOPSIS:
As he plans a job that could result in his gang's biggest score ever, a longtime thief plans a way out of his life and the town while dodging the FBI agent looking to bring him and his bank robbing crew down. In addition to heading an electrifying cast, Ben Affleck also directed and co-wrote this suspensful, critically acclaimed crime thriller that unfolds- and often explodes - across gritty Boston locations.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Had it not been for the critically acclaimed crime drama "Gone Baby Gone" in 2007, no one would have noticed the absence of Academy Award winner and once Hollywood’s favourite leading man, Ben Affleck from the silver screen for a period of at least three years. But fate sometimes is a strange thing to behold and with his latest directorial and starring effort "The Town" with a 94% positive votes at rottentomatoes.com, the "Pearl Harbor" actor ahem or should I rephrase, the co-writer of "Good Will Hunting" and director of "Gone Baby Gone" is back with a vengeance.
Adapting from a novella by Chuck Hogan, "The Town" is a layered crime story about brotherhood, romance and most of all humanity marketed wrongly as a simple point-and-shoot action thriller. As such, diving in with this sort of perspective might bore the lot of you.
"The Town" opens with a heart-pounding heist carried out by Doug MacRay (Affleck) and his band of brothers including the unpredictable James Coughlin played by Oscar winner Jeremy Renner. After the robbery, Doug starts to develop feelings for the bank manager Claire (Rebecca Hall) whom unfortunately was also the hostage earlier. With the next robbery on-hand to be execute, a kept-in-the-dark girlfriend together with an out-of-control buddy and a cop, Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) breathing down his neck, Doug has a lot to juggle and we of course are invited on this harrowing journey.
Instead of steering it into a predictable crime flick, Affleck manages to instil a rich sense of characterisation resulting in a complex bond and chemistry with his fellow cast mates, Renner and Hall especially. The material is generic but somehow Affleck amazes with both his directing and even his acting has improved tremendously after a string of dismal acting roles. Renner is simply compelling as the violent prone, always itching for a fight Coughlin. There’s even star-studded cameo including Chris Cooper’s delicious turnout as Doug’s hardcore criminal dad and the late Pete Postlethwaite as the sinister boss, Fergie. Jon Hamm on the other hand has things easy, the Mad Men actor only huff and puffs for most of the screen time and lacks a lasting impression.
Liked a solid taut thriller, "The Town" is filled with its share of pyrotechnics and car chase sequences. The action though nothing spectacular in a visual sense is firmly rooted in reality. Bloody and violent and refuses to veer into flashy, slow-mo territory. Filmed almost entirely in Affleck’s hometown, Boston, the on location setting adds more creditability and authenticity instead of the usual interior soundstage filming.
Remember Michael Mann’s "Heat"? "The Town" emerges as one of the best heist movie coming out of a studio in recent years after the latter. It might be hard to beat Mann or the pairing of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino but Affleck’s vision nevertheless beat the crap out of lacklustre similarly themed movies such as "Armored" and "Takers". All of a sudden, we are turning ourselves into Team Affleck. You should too.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
The Real People of the Town – Meet the Real People of Charlestown is a short feature that talks about the actual people of Charlestown being cast in various bit parts in the movie.
Ben Affleck: Director & Actor Profiles the Academy Award-Winning Filmmaker – Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall and Producer Graham King discuss about working with Affleck, the leading man and also director of the crime flick.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is not particularly impressive though it serves enough respectable impact during the action sequences but mostly dialogue is clear and distinct. Overall, the visual is excellent and preserve the intended gritty feel of the movie.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
Posted
on 16 March 2011
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