Doug MacRay is an unrepentant criminal, the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who pride themselves in stealing what they want and getting out clean. With no real attachments, Doug never has to fear losing anyone close to him. But that all changed on the gang's latest job, when they briefly took a hostage--bank manager, Claire Keesey. Though they let her go unharmed, Claire is nervously aware that the robbers know her name and where she lives. But she lets her guard down when she meets an unassuming and rather charming man named Doug not realizing that he is the same man who only days earlier had terrorized her. The instant attraction between them gradually turns into a passionate romance that threatens to take them both down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path.

The Town crafts its characters and plots where even though it’s about a group of villains you actually have sympathy for the villains and want to cheer them on. The Town is a perfect example of the anti-hero kind of film where even though the movie is about bank robbers and crime you find yourself hoping the bad guys win and not the cops or the authorities. I love these kind of films because they turn the whole typical cliché storylines on their heads and you get to root for the bad guys and not the good guys for once. The Town is full of action, plot and great characters and you can’t help but truly be entertained by the film.

The one downfall to the anti-hero storyline of the Town though is that they make Ben Affleck’s character the most likeable and the one you want to cheer for the most and make the rest of his gang much less likeable and more of your traditional villains. Jeremy Renner who plays Jem in the movie is your perfect example of your traditional villain as he is an underhanded dirty bastard of a crook who would just as likely shoot you if you looked at him the wrong way. He is the counterpart to Affleck’s character who still has some good in him and their ties do add quite a bit of drama to the film as they eventually butt heads despite their friendship.

Ben Affleck as a director has a knack for capturing that gritty very real life feeling of an area on film. The area that he has been capturing is Boston the place where is from and the realism of the area also becomes a character in the film. It is almost like you are walking the streets of Charlestown yourself, breathing the air, feeling the grit on your skin. It’s a beautiful element to the film and adds to the cinematic experience.

Ben Affleck is actually a fairly good actor despite the flack he has taken over the years for poor movie choices. He again sells the movie once more playing a tough role in an anti-hero and a villain that we have to like and care for. He also cast a lot of real criminals and local areas in the film and that too adds to the realism of the movie. The town is a fast paced action movie that at the same time can make you think and be drawn in by his drama and plots and a must see.

Grade: B+