Who the hell would have thought Daredevil would direct one of the best films of the year?
The man has really risen from the ashes of being a joke of an actor to being this phenomenal director. With Gone Baby Gone and now The Town, Ben Affleck continues to solidify his talents in front of, and behind the camera.
The film takes place in Charlestown which the movie would have you believe is like the epicenter of crime in the United States. Criminal-ism is literally a profession passed from father to son. We follow a group of bank robbers led by Ben Affleck's character who at the beginning of the film robs a bank and takes Rebecca Hall as hostage. But in it's aftermath, Ben Affleck begins having a relationship with his hostage unbeknownst to her that h was her robber as dynamics in the group spiral out of control with the FBI closing in on them.
The Town is an electric heist film played out with an impressive ensemble cast, and grounded in a believably earnest sense of place. It portrays bank robbers in a way not many people will see, that beneath their twisted profession and violent nature, they are actually nice people who just chose the wrong profession.
All that applies except for Jeremy Renner who continues to amaze me. I didn't care so much for him in The Hurt Locker but he delivers a no holds barred, fuck-the-world, volatile insane character that was a joy to watch. I'd go as far as to compare him with Joe Pesci from Goodfellas. He walks that fine line as John Hawkes character did in Winter's Bone as in being an anti-hero type character where the audience loves him but is still afraid of him. Oh and he has one of the best end scenes I have ever seen a bank robber has. If I'm gonna go out, I'm going out like THAT. Minus the trashy drink.
However Renner's best scenes were always with Ben Affleck. These two have 3 really big bank robbery scenes in this and they play off each other so well, especially to the end. It's almost an orchestra in a way these two handle their heist scenes with great tension, build and clever but almost always gruesome conclusions.
But with all the hype surrounding the two, I feel it's also adequate I mention the great performances John Hamm, Rebecca Hall and Blake Lively gave as the film's supporting cast. I mean, it takes a hell lot to make Blake Lively look trashy but hell if they didn't do it. Still hot though. This is the first time I really saw Blake Lively act, and she's good! Really good. Jon Hamm is wonderful as an incorruptible cop as well as Rebecca Hall who plays a really torn up woman of conflicts and trauma because of her experiences in the film.
Some reviewers are dissing the climax of the film calling it misplaced and sluggish. But I wouldn't have had it play out any other way. The final shootout scene in the film is one of the absolute best I have ever seen since Michael Man's Heat. And I have also got to mention a brilliantly shot and edited car chase scene that is on par with The Dark Knight.
This is still far from a perfect film but it is one of the best I have seen all year long. The Town is a sharp heist film cum crime drama that will leave it's audience breathless.RATING: 8/10
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