The Town

The day has finally come, and I finally got to see The Town for myself. Ben Affleck’s second film in the director’s chair, and I must say he’s definitely 2/2. Though I don’t believe that Gone Baby Gone was the best movie ever, it was definitely a very good entry into the genre and I’d like to give it another watch. Now The Town on the other hand, was a fantastic blend of drama and action and was strung all together by some very great performances. Affleck is obviously on target here, and I’ve never been one to hate on his ability as an actor like some others have. The big surprise here though is Jeremy Renner, well not surprise, because he is easily the greatest part of this movie and I think most of us saw this great performance coming. The story here was fantastic having been directed and written by Affleck, and I really hope that the success of this movie will help him get more of his own projects off the ground.

Ben Affleck plays Doug MacRay, our main character and leader of the bank robbery crew with 4 people, one of whom being Jeremy Renner. Affleck here is playing is Boston character that we’ve seen before in Good Will Hunting so that wasn’t anything new, but the bank robber professional is. He did a fantastic job at playing this character, and he really gives you reasons to root for him and not the good guys. I really like that during this movie you’re very much able to root for the bad guys because the characters are so intriguing and likable, and that’s mostly due in part to MacRay’s tough but sensitive attitude. You can tell he’s always trying to get out of the game, but he’s still paranoid enough to know that getting out of the game isn’t going to be easy, and Affleck truly nails this character here.

Jeremy Renner plays MacRay’s “brother” James Coughlin, and he is one rough and tough dude. I loved everything about this character, and for me was the most enjoyable part of this movie. Every single scene that Renner’s Coughlin was in, was spectacular because of his performance. He spent time in jail for killing a man that was about to roll up on one of his guys, and this shows his tough demeanor. This guy is not a guy to be fucked with, and he really shows that throughout the movie. He is constantly the one keeping Affleck on his toes, and in the game, and he really assists in giving the characters their humanity. Without Coughlin, you don’t see MacRay in the sort of light you do throughout this movie I don’t think, and as well you don’t see how bad ass of a dude Coughlin is because he’s far and away the brawn of this group. Coughlin was just such a crazy, bad ass dude, you couldn’t help but finding yourself rooting for these dudes to get away with everything.

The love interests here in the movie of Affleck’s are what they are, and they’re here as well to give these characters their humanity. These are bad guys, and you shouldn’t be rooting for them because they’re breaking the law. But the reason that all these characters are here is because in order for this movie to work, you need to believe that these guys are doing it for a reason. The motive is never really clear besides the money and good fortune, but Affleck has ties in his personal life that affect what’s going to happen next in this story. The first heist in the movie is what sets the whole thing off, and one of his love interests is a girl that they end up taking hostage for security. This is ultimately what leads to the rest of the plot unfolding, and the tension that is created from this relationship is fantastic. There’s quite a few scenes where you have Claire, the girl who was taken hostage, and MacRay interacting about the bank robbery or speaking in conditions that are suspicious and it creates this tension. It wasn’t Alfred Hitchcock tension, but there is one particular scene that really I don’t think was meant to be all that suspenseful, but it involves Coughlin, MacRay, and Claire and it’s outstanding.

Overall this movie delivers on having a great story, as well as some great action scenes. The gunfights in this movie are great, and it is what breathes the action into this movie. They’re not all throughout the movie, but when they do take place it definitely gets the adrenaline going. There’s also a great car chase here that was really great, and I loved every minute of it. All of the action elements were perfect, and it shows that Affleck knows what’s up in said department. The drama side was definitely done well as well, and we know that it’s possible because of Affleck’s previous endeavors. Like I said though, I’m not a person that discredits Affleck’s talent and I know there are people that do. In this movie he shows that everything he’s ever done isn’t just for money, and I really think he knows what a quality film is. He delivered such a fantastic movie here with his acting, directing, and co-writing. I say Hollywood ought to let Affleck and his crew gather back up for another movie, and maybe bring back the Matt Damon element because Good Will Hunting was the bomb. As for Jeremy Renner, please put this dude in more action/bad ass roles, because this dude has it for sure. Hell, put him in anything because I think this guy is about to blow up.