Review of The Town (2010) by April V — 23 Dec 2012

While the film does appear to be obviously inspired by better films like Heat, The Town nevertheless is forgiven for its lack of originality thanks to Ben Affleck's direction, a series of well-orchestrated robbery sequences, an interesting blending of varying and diverse performances from Affleck himself, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Chris Cooper and a truly terrifying performance from Pete Poselthwaite and a script that conveys the tensions that are screened from all personas of criminal, cop and witness.

The direction specifically is crafted so well, unlike most other contemporary American thrillers, that it feels too unpredictable to determine how the film is going to end, and only goes to confirm the resurrection of Ben Affleck as a reliable source for Hollywood again.

Of Affleck's three films, this is the best of the three and serves as one of the more superior thrillers of the decade thus far.