Review of The Town (2010) by Txrangersfan72 — 18 Sep 2010

While Ben Affleck has exceeded any expectations I had for him since first seeing him in Mallrats many moons ago, his better-than-average performance in "The Town" has been entirely overrated, as has the movie.

I, unfortunately, had my expectations pretty high when I read the hype surrounding this movie. Unfortunately, they weren't met. "The Town" is certainly a fine film, much better than most fare from Hollywood.

However, the flow of the movie seems elementary with scenes and storyline elements lasting unnecessarily long. The sudden fade out that end also threw me for a loop. It was mechanically clumsy, perhaps having more to do with editing than directing, but it was a valiant effort nonetheless.

Being a huge fan of Boston, having just spent a large amount of time there in the last year, it was interesting to be reminded of all the places I had visited. Also, my baseball pants did a dance when they robbed Fenway.

There was significant dialogue that was so muddied in Boston dialect that it was difficult to follow. There were also unfinished storylines, inexplicable progressions and some difficulty emotionally attaching to the plight or life of the characters.

Blake Lively was the biggest surprise in the smallest role as Jeremy Renner's sister and Ben Affleck's former lover. She was in the movie only a little, but had a tremendous impact and showed range I wasn't aware she had.