Fall 2010 Film Reviews III

The Town (2010): A

The Town might be the most satisfying film I have seen in a long, long time. The purpose of watching a film is to be entertained and challenged - some movies are too much entertainment and others try too hard to be revolutionary (and end up just being mediocre). The Town is exactly what a I want from a movie; it is gripping and exciting, believable, and never boring.

The Town is set in a specific part of Boston that is known for turning out robbers in the same way that Texas turns out football players. Ben Affleck plays the leader of a group of poor, blue-collar thieves who hit up banks and armored trucks. Affleck is solid as the main protagonist but who really shines is Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) who plays a dangerous and loose-hinged member of the group. Jon Hamm (Mad Men) is also really enjoyable as a semi-dirty FBI Officer. Even Blake Lively from Gossip Girl is decent (which is a little bit unexpected) as a trashy, drug-addicted, young single mother.

There are numerous chase scenes, gun fights, escapes, and robbery scenes in the film that are a lot of fun to watch. For the most part the film is fairly believable and there are only a couple real weaknesses or faults. The romance between Affleck's character and one of their victims is somewhat unbelievable and the concept of a thief going in for "one final heist" is way overplayed now. It seems that every movie that depicts a robber shows a guy who just wants to get out of the game.

The Town combines the excitement of an action film, has some dark humor, and is at times moving. The Town probably isn't going to win any Academy Awards or anything, maybe because it is not a particularly ambitious film (The film is not that unique and tells a story that has been told many times before). However, there is never a second of the film that is boring or uneventful. The Town is not a stupid movie that has a lot of action and explosions (like say Transformers), is not a movie that is overly simplistic and has a clear good guy and bad guy (like Avatar), and The Town is not a movie so complicated that it can't be understood and enjoyed. The Town is absolutely enjoyable, at times funny, and always gripping - what more can you ask for in a film?