I have found the trick to enjoying a movie is to lower your expectations. Expect a mediocre movie and when it's a few notches above that, you'll be thrilled with your $20 and two hours spent at the theatre.
Someone told me The Town was a cross between Heat and Point Break, two fabulous movies. I had serious doubts The Town would be of that calibre. I went to this movie expecting mediocrity and was blown away by the gripping screenplay, the competence of the actors, and the action scenes that tied it all together.
The Plot
The premise of the movie is basic. A tight-knit group of guys in Charlestown, a blue-collar neighbourhood in Boston, work manual labour jobs and rob banks for a pastime. The character the movie revolves around, Doug MacRay (played by Ben Affleck), is the leader of the bank-robbing squad. He is in the midst of planning his last big heist before retiring while dealing with his feelings for Claire (played by Rebecca Hall), a bank manager the robbers terrorized in a previous hold-up. Conflicts arise when MacRay's partners in crime don't want him to give up his bank-robbing hobby and his romance with Claire heats up. To add more roadblocks to MacRay's dream of a new life, the F.B.I. is closing in fast.
Typical Unrealistic Action
As expected with any action flick coming out of Hollywood, there is the typical completely unrealistic stuff you expect in shoot 'em ups. Toward the end of this 124 minute long movie, a bad guy barrels out of an underground parking garage and takes off down the road as police fire hundreds of shots at the vehicle. Yet no officers get shot despite the nonstop crossfire.
In another instance, over 500 shots are fired at the bad guy by trained snipers yet only one guy gets a minor nick across his face. Of course, as per Hollywood guidelines, this just enhances his appearance.
As much as I nitpick about the unrealistic action scenes, they are to be expected in blockbuster movies and without them, we would be disappointed.
The Ending
The ending of The Town is moderately predictable but with a cool twist. Good usually prevails over evil in Hollywood movies but in this case, the line between good and bad is a blurry one. That confusion adds to the intrigue. Logic would tell us that bank robbers are the bad guys and that we should be rooting for them to get busted but in this case you can't help but empathize with Affleck's bank-robbing character.
Ben Affleck
The biggest surprise in the movie was Ben Affleck. He co-wrote the screenplay, directed the movie (his second foray into being a director), and starred in the movie as the lovable, thieving Doug MacRay. In the past, Affleck has been a part of some subpar movies (think Gigli, Surviving Christmas, and Jersey Girl) but I believe he has come into his own and we can expect great things from Affleck in the future.
Bank Robbery Movies
There have been a slew of bank robbery movies in recent years (Inside Man and The Bank Job come to mind) but The Town stands out as one of the best. Make sure to have an extra large bucket of popcorn!
Toby Welch - Toby is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in magazine articles, online writing, e-books, and manuscript editing.
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