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The Town (2010)

tomatometer

94

Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 210
Fresh: 197 | Rotten: 13

Tense, smartly written, and wonderfully cast, The Town proves that Ben Affleck has rediscovered his muse -- and that he's a director to be reckoned with.

92

Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 34 | Rotten: 3

Tense, smartly written, and wonderfully cast, The Town proves that Ben Affleck has rediscovered his muse -- and that he's a director to be reckoned with.

audience

83

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 110,251

My Rating

Movie Info

Boston bank robber Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) falls for a woman his gang had previously taken hostage after feigning a chance meeting with her to ensure that she can't identify them in Affleck's adaptation of author Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. The son of a tough Charlestown, MA thief, Doug passed on his chance to walk the straight and narrow in favor of becoming a career bank robber. Not only is Doug's crew one of the most ruthless in Boston, but they're also one of the best; they

R, 2 hr. 4 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Romance, Mystery & Suspense

Ben Affleck

Dec 17, 2010

$92.2M

Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

All Critics (210) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (198) | Rotten (13) | DVD (2)

Affleck, often underrated as an actor, fits effortlessly into this milieu.

September 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | Comments (3)
Christian Science Monitor
Top Critic IconTop Critic

As a director, Affleck now has two home runs in two at-bats. This is one of the best movies of the year.

September 21, 2010 Full Review Source: Richard Roeper.com | Comments (7)
Richard Roeper.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An autopsy for The Town would list multiple causes of death.

September 17, 2010 Full Review Source: Slate | Comments (42)
Slate
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Affleck's direction is clipped when the plot requires, but he lingers on character-driven scenes (at a garden, a restaurant, a corner) in no apparent rush. Why hurry, after all? He's arrived.

September 17, 2010 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | Comment
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Essential viewing for connoisseurs of dropped r's, close-cropped hair and aerial views of the city that used to call itself the hub of the universe.

September 17, 2010 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A deliberately old-fashioned melodrama that echoes the pulpy mix of violence and romanticism of gangster films of the Thirties and Forties.

September 17, 2010 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

'The Town' hits not one false note, despite a plot that easily could have come across as contrived.

November 5, 2011 Full Review Source: Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) | Comment
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

Because this all revolves around Affleck, The Town is a curiosity; directed by him under another name and it would be forgettable.

August 18, 2011 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | Comment
LarsenOnFilm

Ben Affleck may not be his generation's best actor, but he is quickly becoming one of its best directors.

August 15, 2011 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | Comment
Oscar Guy

If it just stuck to its guns The Town would be a fun, engaging heist film, but by reaching for more it ends up achieving less.

March 21, 2011 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | Comment
ComingSoon.net

The Town isn't original in any sense of the word, but Affleck does a marvelous job executing all of the pieces and is easily one of the best films of 2010.

February 27, 2011 Full Review Source: Eclipse Magazine | Comment
Eclipse Magazine

A grade A crime thriller.

February 24, 2011 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comments (6)
Cinema Crazed

One of those rare cases that the previews are actually as good as the movie.

January 3, 2011 Full Review Source: BET.com | Comment
BET.com

A film can only be as riveting as its ability to have the audience believe or suspend belief, and though The Town takes steps toward authenticity, it fails to meet even the basic requirements of plausibility.

December 30, 2010 Full Review Source: Bangitout.com | Comment
Bangitout.com

A crime thriller that is good more of the time than it's not, but suffers from the fact it should've been great.

December 25, 2010 Full Review Source: IFC.com | Comment
IFC.com

A solid crime drama, with shades of Michael Mann's Heat, but a sluggish pace and meandering middle drag things down a little.

December 24, 2010 Full Review Source: IGN DVD | Comment
IGN DVD

... a well-tooled thriller with a tough edge and an impressive professionalism.

December 21, 2010 Full Review Source: MSN.com | Comment
MSN.com

The movie's thrills are old-fashioned and assured.

December 17, 2010 Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | Comment
Window to the Movies

...may not be the most momentous or thought-provoking film around, but for me it was one of the most entertaining movies of the year. (Blu-ray Combo Edition)

December 12, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Despite its gritty feel and appearance, it's a romantic heist picture at heart.

December 12, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

The cast is uniformly game, restrained, earthy, and will probably prove superior to at least half of those nominated for Oscars next year.

November 29, 2010 Full Review Source: Projection Booth | Comment
Projection Booth

full review at Movies for the Masses

November 20, 2010 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | Comment
Movies for the Masses

Ben Affleck has matured as an actor and serves up what is arguably his best performance to date.

November 19, 2010 Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | Comment
Palo Alto Weekly

...the familiarity of the storyline is rarely as problematic as one might've anticipated...

November 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comments (8)
Reel Film Reviews

En comparación con su primer largo como director, este segundo intento de Ben Affleck pierde puntos no porque sea una mala película, sino porque es una película más.

November 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | Comment
Uruguay Total

One of the first serious adult dramas of the fall season, 'The Town' also is one of the first serious Oscar contenders.

October 30, 2010 Full Review Source: KWQC-TV (Iowa) | Comment
KWQC-TV (Iowa)
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Town

Reminded me of the Inside Man and the Bandits. Ben Affleck plays a bad guy. He is a bank robber who seeks out a bank manager whom his gang had taken hostage in a robbery. Long drawn out and violent movie.

October 21, 2010
thmtsang
Candy Rose

Super Reviewer

The Town, is simple words, is not what I expected. In a so-so way. I guess what I did was expect way to much out of a movie that was supposed to be taken as an average film, but when you saw it you experienced something else. What I supposedly thought was that this film was an amazing heist viewing experience, a

December 24, 2011
shahmeer h.
shahmeer hashmat

Super Reviewer

    1. James Coughlin: Money, bitch. [Doug freezes then turns and sees it's Jem]
    2. James Coughlin: What the fuck you doin' here? Huh?
    – Submitted by Alex D (4 months ago)
    1. Dino Ciampa: You need a fucking venn diagram for these people.
    – Submitted by Alex D (4 months ago)
    1. Doug MacRay: No matter how much you change, you still have to pay the price for the things you've done. So I got a long road. But I know I'll see you again - this side or the other.
    – Submitted by Alex D (4 months ago)
    1. Krista Coughlin: There he is. Mr six inches.
    – Submitted by Alex D (4 months ago)
    1. Doug MacRay: You can't be up there killing people.
    2. James Coughlin: Hey, you brought me.
    – Submitted by Alex D (4 months ago)

Latest News for The Town

September 1, 2011:
Ben Affleck's Argo Starts Filming; First Synopsis Released
The thriller "chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded...

October 1, 2010:
Potential Projects Line Up for Ben Affleck
"The Town" is a hit, and Ben Affleck is once again the toast of Hollywood. So what's next for him?

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Foreign Titles

  • The Town - Stadt ohne Gnade (DE)
  • The Town. Ciudad de ladrones (ES)
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