John’s Movie Musings

There comes a time in all of us when our mouth will say something our brain cannot comprehend. Things like, “No thanks, I have had enough bacon.” Or, “Ya know, that Nickleback song isn’t too bad.” For me it was, “I think Ben Affleck is pretty talented.”

Years ago, Mr. Affleck had an epiphany; he would get behind the camera instead of in front of it. That stroke of genius gave us Gone Baby Gone, a fantastic kidnapping thriller you should have seen by now. For The Town, Affleck directs again but mixes things up by casting himself in the lead role. I should have maybe held that info until the end because you now know this movie isn’t as good.

The Town is your basic heist flick. A group of cons need “one last job” before walking away to paradise. Lucky for us, things go bad and there’s a story worth seeing. Well, some of it. The problem with this formula is that all of the lead-up is filler. I know one of the gang is gonna be angry and want to stay. I don’t care about the love interest’s nonsensical choices, nor the last three heist movies I saw them in. Just give me some dudes gunning their way through a botched robbery.

I’ve been much harsher on The Town here than just after seeing it. It’s well produced, well acted, and had some good tension. I had no idea who was gonna survive to the end, so that’s a plus.  I’d say it’s worth checking out, but only if you’re in the mood for the formula.

Grade: B-