The Movie Doctor: Movie Review: "The Town"

Movie Review: “The Town”

Three years ago I was blown away by Gone Baby Gone. I was happily surprised at Ben Affleck’s directional debut it had depth, great plot twists, and even better acting. From that experience I had been eagarly awaiting to see The Town in theaters. Now that I have I can say that it did not disappoint.

The Town revolves around a group of local robbers that are living in Charlestown, Boston. When Doug Macray (essentially the leader of the group) starts having a relationship with one of the witnesses to the robbery things start to turn around for the so-far successful crew. On the flip side of the coin the FBI headed by Special Agent Adam Frawley (A very angry Jon Hamm) is doing whatever it takes to find and imprison the robbers for their crimes.

The Town is an exciting, well-shot, greatly-acted crime-drama. It has all the elements of a great Heist movie. Wonderful action scenes especially a car chase in the middle of the film which is just dazzling to watch. Great character development, and an all around great story.

One of the best things about this movie is the awesome cast. Now I never was a huge fan of Ben Affleck’s acting. I was even skeptical of his acting from the trailer but I have to say I was extremely impressed by him I think it was one of his best performances. Affleck is also joined by Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively, Rebecca Hall, Chris Cooper, and Pete Postlethwaite. Jeremy Renner and Jon Hamm are mesmerizing to watch. They both play very hot-tempered characters. Renner gave his character a lot of depth and intensity while Hamm made his character the real villain of the film. Being a huge fan of Mad Men seeing him play someone like that only made me admire him more as an actor. Blake Lively and Rebecca Hall both played their characters extremely well along with Chris Cooper. The performance that really got to me was Pete Postlethwaite. Although he doesn’t get much screen time (his presence is more of a cameo) the time he was present he just lights up the screen. The feeling is similar to what I felt when watching Woody Harrelson in Seven Pounds. Although he was hardly on screen when he was those scenes became and are still vivid in my memory.

If you love action/heist movies than you’ll love The Town. I think it’s a great movie that is definetly worth watching in the theaters. Now I can only eagerly wait for Affleck’s next film.