While walking through Times Square a few weeks ago, I saw a billboard for a movie called The Town. I had no idea what it was about, who was in it, or if it was even out yet. I have not been to a movie in a long time and I had not even seen this film’s preview. I was going in blind.
The movie poster for this film was just flat out creepy. Anytime you see a man dressed up like a nun holding an assault rifle you are about to be a little scared.
The film was directed by Ben Affleck, who also starred in the movie. There were a few other big names in this film including Jon Hamm from The Day The Earth Stood Still, and Jeremy Reener from The Hurt Locker.
This film takes place in a town (hence the name) called Charlestown just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. This town is actually notorious for producing more bank robbers than anywhere else in the country. This also happens to be the premise of this film. I was impressed, though, that once the movie came to an end, there was a statement from the producers clarifying that even though this town has produced a ton of bank robbers, they still have respect for the hard working folks of this town, and actually dedicated the film to those souls. That went a long way for some people in the audience, myself included.
I didn’t realize that Ben Affleck had directed this movie until it was over. This is only his second film, Gone Baby Gone being his first, and I was surprised that it was so much better than his previous.
Not to spoil the film for you, but I enjoyed it. It had a ton of Boston worked in, from their accents (which almost go overboard sometimes), to their untouchable attitude that people in that city seem to have. There were also numerous scenes shot in obvious Boston-based places, and you could tell that part of the intention in this film was to show how real and honest these people from Charlestown are. They did a great job of making it seem authentic.
You won’t be shocked with the ending of this movie. It plays out exactly how you think it will from the time that it starts to the time the credits roll. You almost get bored in certain parts of the film because you always know what is going to happen next. They also use a lot of unnecessary profanity in this film. Granted, I think there are times it is necessary, but the film is rated R and they took that as an open invitation to say as many cuss words as possible.
Netflix had this to say about the film:
“As tenacious FBI agent Adam (Jon Hamm) hunts him down, ingenious bank robber Doug (Ben Affleck) pursues a risky relationship with Claire (Rebecca Hall), one of his former hostages. But while Doug and his cohorts plan their next hit, Adam hones in on Claire and falls for her in the process. Directed by Affleck and based on Chuck Hogan’s novel Prince of Thieves, this intricate thriller also stars Chris Cooper, Blake Lively and Jeremy Renner.”
The one thing that stood out to me was the soundtrack. No matter where they were, whether having dinner or hanging out in the strip clubs after a big job, the music was a perfect mix for their lifestyle. It helped get me through the boring parts and the scenes that you wish had been edited out before this movie hit theaters.
We saw this on opening night and when we got to the theater we expected it to be a packed house. It was not, and the theater never got completely full. It was also in a very small theater holding only 170 people at capacity.
Before the movie started Sheryl and I both looked at some reviews of the film and were confused why so few people were there. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a great rating, and Netflix had suggested I would give it a 4-star rating. (That is hard to do, as I am a very tough critic when it comes to rating movies on Netflix, and a 4-star rating is rare.)
I ended up giving this film a 3-star rating on Netflix, but only because of how predictable it was. Nothing in this film will surprise you. Also, there is a part toward the end where one of the characters gets shot in the face. Now, I have never seen someone shot in the face before, but when he is shot just a little trickle of blood runs down his face as he lays there dying. I am sure that if you were shot in the face with an assault rifle, there might be a little more blood than that.
Regardless, go see the movie but see it in the theater. There are too many scenes, especially the scenes that have intense shootouts and car chases that require the surround sound experience that you get in a theater.
Did you see The Town on opening weekend? What did you think of the film?
