Director:
Ben Affleck

Cast:
Ben Affleck
Jeremy Renner
Jon Hamm
Rebecca Hall
Blake Lively
Pete Postlethwaite

Synopsis:
A career thief tries to balance his feelings for a bank manager connected to one of his earlier heists as an FBI agent hunts down he and his crew.

Review:
I never paid much attention to Ben Affleck, seeing as how he more-or-less phoned it in until he co-wrote and directed the fantastic Gone Baby Gone. Affleck once again proves himself as a legitimate director who has an obvious talent for directing crime dramas. With The Town, he proves that his first film was truly no fluke.

While this doesn’t have near the emotional or intellectual impact Gone Baby Gone did, it is nonetheless a very intense, well-acted, and well-made thriller. In a weak year as we’ve had, this will most definitely be near the top of many people’s lists at the end of the year. The performances all around are perfect, with a few standouts by Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, and Pete Postlethwaite (who is probably in the film a total of 10 minutes). Chris Cooper also drops by for one memorable scene. Affleck is a fitting lead and it is probably his best work as an actor, but is overshadowed by the rest. Jon Hamm is great as usual, odd to see him in a role where he isn’t drinking. The real surprise is Blake Lively, who has had nothing truly credible to her name until now, she truly stands her ground with the rest of the cast and shows promise for the future.

While this can be seen as the Boston version of Heat, it is a very bogged-down one. It fails to explore the law enforcement side and lacks much emotional impact, but it is nevertheless gripping and entertaining.

Overall, this is a film that is well-made and in good hands with a talented cast and director. The action scenes are explosive and unapologetic. This is a good time at the movies.

Rating: R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use.

Runtime: 123 minutes

Review:  A-