It's often been said that there are no new tales to tell. Every story has been told and at this point the best we can hope for is a story told well.
I'm glad to report that The Town is the latest cops and robbers yarn and it is in fact told well.
Taken from Chuck Hogan's novel Prince Of Thieves, this film takes place in Charlestown, Boston - the world's carjacking, kidnapping and armed robbery capital.
It is here that Ben Affleck plays the brains behind a four-man crew of nogoodnicks.
Specifically, four fighting Irish (oh, those Irish) lads with a knack for robbing armoured cars and banks. After the initial heist, the FBI is hot on their heels thanks to the token hot head (played wonderfully by Jeremy Renner) kidnapping the bank manager.
From there Affleck tries to get out of the business while perusing romantic intentions with the bank manager and dealing with the ever unstable and violent Renner who is making things difficult.
The acting is quite good with enough emotional investment to keep the action and suspense going at a good clip. I also thought the ending was decent but won't give it away.
This is Affleck's second shot as director and it would appear with this success that he has many more ahead of him.
Basically, if you're looking for a good old gritty cops and robbers movie, you'll be satisfied spending a few hours in The Town.
