I saw an advanced screening of THE TOWN at the Roseville AMC on Wednesday evening.
(I have been getting to a few advanced screenings and am going to try to reinvent this blog to try to keep you informed as to what is coming out that I have seen and liked as well as if I get to something new release in theaters or on DVD I will attempt that as well)
The trailer for THE TOWN had peaked my interest but I'll admit I knew little going into it and had tempered my expectations. And once I started seeing advertisements that related this to THE DEPARTED, which is one of my favorite all time films, interest grew.
It had a cast of characters that I was excited to see (Jon Hamm, Blake Lively), was interested to see Jeremy Renner in something else after being exposed to him in THE HURT LOCKER, and I just didn't know what to expect from Ben Affleck.
I was pleasantly surprised at what greeted me on the screen, there are some great shots of Boston right away (and throughout the film) and the entire film takes place in this town where an unusually high percent of bank robbers have come from, almost a "family business" so to speak. And we follow Affleck and his crew as we get launched pretty quickly into following them as they take down their next target.
However, the end up taking the bank manager, Rebecca Hall, hostage...which doesn't seem to be part of the normal plan as we see it creates chaos in the group as to handle the situation. While scouting out the bank manager Ben Affleck's character Doug MacRay shows us a softer side and begins to enjoy interacting with someone who doesn't know his secrets.
I was very pleased with Jon Hamm's performance as the FBI agent, pleased to see him in a dramatic role other than Mad Men, he definitely does not disappoint - however I did wish that he had a little more screen time, to learn more and gain some depth to his character and just because I enjoyed him in the role, however I do release he was not who we were focusing on.
I struggled on whether I liked the choice of Blake Lively for the role she was cast in or not. I ended up deciding on yes, because it was something different from the roles that I have seen her been cast in and gave her a chance to show a different part of her acting chops. Which as someone who has acted before (and hope to again) the roles that are challenging and different are the ones that can help you grow a lot. It also exposes her to a different audience than her normal crowd and so it would be interesting to find out what someone who hasn't seen her in anything thought of the performance and it will be exciting to see her follow up performance in the upcoming 2011 film THE GREEN LANTERN.
Finally, Ben Affleck gave a very solid performance. I'll admit, he hasn't been my favorite actor but he was definitely in his element here. He gives a very real performance (the Boston accent is natural for him and was the icing on the cake) and I was impressed even more when I realized that not only did he deliver such a great performance, but he directed on top of it all.
In fact there was an audible "huh!" (read as positive surprise) from the advanced screening crowd when his name was credited as director at the end of the film.
Outside of the stellar performances there are some great gun fights, and car chases the keep the action up, add a healthy splash of humor and a great sequence in the end involving Fenway Park that made me want to go back to Boston and catch a Red Sox game.
Overall a pleasant surprise
4/5 stars
THE TOWN opens today Sept 17.
-Dav3
