The Town
1 Oscar Nominations
Rent/Purchase
A proficient group of thieves rob a bank and hold the manager hostage. Things begin to get complicated when one of the crew members falls in love with her.
What critics thought
Ben Affleck's heist thriller earns strong marks for its tightly staged action sequences and confident direction, but a significant minority found the human drama derivative and cliché-ridden beneath the craft. The film sits comfortably within Boston's crime-movie tradition — optimistic and procedural compared to bleaker genre siblings like The Departed — and invites unavoidable comparisons to Michael Mann's Heat, which some critics saw as a compliment and others as a limitation.
“it's a bogus, bull-headed enterprise all the same; a film that leaves no cliche untrampled.”
Xan Brooks·The Guardian
“an ideal balance between kineticism and clarity”
Justin Chang·Variety
Genres
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorBen Affleck
StarringBen Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively
ComposerHarry Gregson-Williams, David Buckley
The Town
1 Oscar Nominations
A proficient group of thieves rob a bank and hold the manager hostage. Things begin to get complicated when one of the crew members falls in love with her.
What critics thought
Ben Affleck's heist thriller earns strong marks for its tightly staged action sequences and confident direction, but a significant minority found the human drama derivative and cliché-ridden beneath the craft. The film sits comfortably within Boston's crime-movie tradition — optimistic and procedural compared to bleaker genre siblings like The Departed — and invites unavoidable comparisons to Michael Mann's Heat, which some critics saw as a compliment and others as a limitation.
“it's a bogus, bull-headed enterprise all the same; a film that leaves no cliche untrampled.”
Xan Brooks·The Guardian
“an ideal balance between kineticism and clarity”
Justin Chang·Variety
Genres
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorBen Affleck
StarringBen Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively
ComposerHarry Gregson-Williams, David Buckley
Rent/Purchase