ViewGuide

Created Oct 17, 2010 12:21AM PST • Edited Oct 17, 2010 12:21AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Perfect 5.0

   Let’s flash back seven years ago. The year is 2003. This year marks the release of two films that would be considered two of the worst films of that last decade: Daredevil and Gigli. Now what do these two films have in common aside from their obvious sucky-ness? They both star Ben Affleck. Now, if someone were to tell me that in just four years Affleck would rebuild his status as a Hollywood heavyweight by directing a movie. I’d say “It could happen. And monkeys might fly outta my butt!” *awkward silence* Wayne’s World? Anyone?

   Getting back to the subject of Mr. Affleck, in 2007 he made his directorial debut with the criminally underrated Gone, Baby, Gone which garnered countless amounts of praise from audiences and critics alike. I walked into his sophomoric effort The Town thinking “Alright, Ben, show me what you got.” From the minute the film started, I was hooked.

   The Town takes place in Charlestown, a section of Boston completely run by folks from the wrong side of the tracks. The center of the story is Doug Macray (Affleck, taking on double duty as actor and director), a career criminal with a bad history whose been trying to go straight. During one of his team’s bank robberies (Charlestown is afterall the “bank robbery capitol of the world”), they take the bank manger (an appealing Rebecca Hall) hostage. Soon, Doug meets the woman and forms a relationship with her. Doug’s relationship sets off his best friend Jem (Jeremy Renner, going from playing a bomb disarmer to playing a ticking time bomb himself) who believes she’ll find out who they are thus getting in the way of their final heist.

   The Town has a gritty feeling to it and Affleck does an excellent job of building up suspense and drama between the characters and the situations they’re in. If you enjoy films like Heat or The Departed, you should immediately be drawn to The Town. Its an excellent story of cops and robbers but also manages to be a brilliant heist movie. This may draw comparisons to The Departed due to its Boston setting and its centering on cops and criminals, but I believe The Town is a movie all its own.

4. Acting

   Perfect 5.0

   The acting is just perfect. Aflleck gives one of the best performances of his career. Renner should most likely earn an Oscar nomination for his performance. There isn’t much to say about the rest of the cast. They all do just fine.

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

6. Female Stars Perfect 5.0

7. Female Costars Perfect 5.0

8. Male Costars Perfect 5.0

10. Film

    Perfect 5.0

    The direction is very gritty. I really dug the feel of the film. Mr. Affleck sure has quite an eye, doesn’t he.

11. Direction Perfect 5.0

12. Play Perfect 5.0

13. Music Perfect 5.0

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 3.3

17. Sex Erotic 3.5

18. Violence Brutal 3.4

19. Rudeness Profane 3.0

21. Reality

    Natural 1.0

22. Circumstantial Natural 1.0

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0