Runtime: 125 minutes
Directed by: Ben Affleck
Starring: Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively
From: Warner Bros.
I stumbled into the idea of seeing heist films the rest of February. The idea germinated after realizing the last two movies I saw before last night (The Badlanders and White Fire) involved a heist of some sort, might as well continue the trend as I've been meaning to see more of that genre anyhow. As this-the theatrical cut-is available on Prime until the end of February and I rated Ben's first directorial effort pretty highly, no better time than now to give this a shot.
It does not reinvent the wheel and present a new fresh take on the heist genre, even with the twist of someone in the gang of thieves falling in love with a woman who was briefly taken hostage during a bank robbery. However, the movie is solid between the well-executed heists, the authenticity of the Boston setting (the heavily Irish neighborhood of Charlestown in particular), the gritty earthy characters, the subplot of the FBI investigating the gang, and the interesting note that Affleck's character is trying to leave his lifelong friends and do something better w/ his life-which includes being clean from substance abuse. Ben is not someone I've ever followed closely but I am glad he has been clean for awhile now.
It has a nice cast of familiar faces and while of course the likes of Affleck and Jeremy Renner were memorable, I was actually the most impressed with Rebecca Hall. I barely remember her in Iron Man 3 (a role I know now was greatly truncated anyhow) so this might as well have been the first time I've seen her act. While the lead is not as dark or twisted as he could have been and Gone, Baby, Gone is what I think is “best” between the two, The Town thankfully was not a disappointment. Besides, it has what I am sure is the most exciting automobile chase involving a Dodge minivan. Also, it was nice to see the Bunker Hill Monument, the giant granite obelisk dedicated to an early battle in the American Revolutionary War. It was a place I remember visiting as a child while on vacation.
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