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THE TOWNMovie Reviews
Crime drama about four Boston bank robbers who are planning a new heist, but must evade a determined FBI agent and a woman connected to a previous heist. Cast:Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy RennerDirector:Ben AffleckRelease Date:September 17, 2010DVD Release:December 21, 2010From:Warner Bros.Rating:RLength:2 hr 5 min
The Town played to very good reviews. • Peter Keough wrote in the Boston Phoenix, "Affleck combines visceral excitement, bracing authenticity, and an ambiance of malice and dread..." • And Tom Horgen wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "As an action movie, 'The Town' is good. But as a moody character study, it can be mesmerizing." More Reviews Below...
The Town Positive Reviews (50 Reviews, reviews below)
Alynda Wheat, People: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Though far from perfect, it's a gritty and engaging effort from a guy who looks to have a long career -- on both sides of the camera."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 171 words, 09/16/10
Mary Pols, Time: GOOD "...a thriller that manages to be pleasingly familiar, yet fresh. It's perverse to say this about something so bloody, but it goes down like cinematic comfort food."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,034 words, 09/16/10
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "...besides directing and co-writing the script with Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard, Affleck himself is at the center of the action in front of the camera... oozes authenticity."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 835 words, 09/16/10
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a rich, dark, pulpy mess of entanglements that fulfills all the requirements of the genre, and is told with an ease and gusto that make the pulp tasty."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 526 words, 09/10/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...well-acted, suspenseful story deals in fascinatingly murky morality and mines intriguing material from a historic and complex city."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 536 words, 09/17/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an effective thriller, Affleck works closely with actors, he has a feel for pacing. Yet I persist in finding chases and gun battles curiously boring."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 892 words, 09/16/10
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD(cg) "With a crisp, clear style and a focus on character, Affleck is able to imbue staple action scenes with a sense of urgency and tension.... an engrossing two hours of cinema."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 923 words, 09/15/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (14 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a solid, minor entry in the annals of Boston crime drama.... the performances are strong enough to make it watchable..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 794 words, 09/17/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "Affleck charges up every scene he's in with feral power, and is rewarded with one of the most exciting sequences seen in any action movie this decade."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 366 words, 09/17/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a fast-paced, character-driven heist movie that combines robberies with romance and solidifies Affleck's reputation as an actor with a genuine gift for directing."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 789 words, 09/17/10
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Ben Affleck delivers the goods as an actor and director... a blistering bank-robbery drama with a romantic twist... exciting and well-crafted..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 459 words, 09/17/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an effective thriller, Affleck works closely with actors, he has a feel for pacing. Yet I persist in finding chases and gun battles curiously boring."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 892 words, 09/16/10
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "...in many ways a superior movie to 2007's 'Gone Baby Gone'.... the story is better and more believable, without the silliness that tripped up the earlier movie..."(See all of Linda Barnard's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 634 words, 09/17/10
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a smart, bold genre exercise that's enormous fun to watch, harking back to gritty urban thrillers of the 1970s with an assured sense of tone and style."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 497 words, 09/17/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "Affleck works the familiar turf of a cops-and-robbers thriller but populates it with characters who come convincingly, and often creepily, to life."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 587 words, 09/17/10
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a first-class genre entry stacked with dandy performances and some crackerjack action to boot."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 576 words, 09/17/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...the work of a filmmaker with an eye for faces, an ear for dialect and a light hand on the editor's shoulder.... Affleck, who co-wrote the adaptation of a Chuck Hogan novel, is no 'Gone Baby Gone' fluke."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 605 words, 09/17/10
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "Renner and Hamm play stock characters, but their performances elevate the roles to something more.... Hall is a fantastic actress, good in everything she does."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 598 words, 09/17/10
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...doesn't reinvent the wheel. It just does what it does with great conviction and a sky-high level of execution. It also forges ahead with one of the best Hollywood second-act stories in recent memory."(See all of Chris Vognar's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 289 words, 09/17/10
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "...moody and grim and engrossing if you approach it with the right expectations.... traffics in clichés but keeps the traffic moving.... Renner's the most watchable thing in the movie."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 919 words, 09/17/10
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Affleck is a fine director... the film is sure-footed and taut throughout... And Affleck, directing himself, turns in one of his best screen performances..."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 409 words, 09/17/10
Mike Russell, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "...isn't nearly as tight as 'Gone Baby Gone'.... But Affleck's really good at staging unpretentious action scenes and at directing himself as an actor."(See all of Mike Russell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 828 words, 09/17/10
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...prowls the same Beantown mean streets as 2007's 'Gone Baby Gone,' a marginally superior crime yarn on all counts, especially regarding the plot."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 597 words, 09/16/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD(cg) "...gritty, well-made... It's effective and often exciting, and those looking for hot bang-bang action will likely be pleased."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 476 words, 09/17/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "Affleck pays careful attention to the performances, populating this familiar scenario with doomed, flawed people whose messed-up lives are fascinating to watch."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 511 words, 09/17/10
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a tour-de-force... Affleck combines visceral excitement, bracing authenticity, and an ambiance of malice and dread to make what might be the best movie set in Boston since 'The Friends of Eddie Coyle'..."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 599 words, 09/16/10
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the script pays less attention to the texture of the community than the clichés of crime melodrama, but at least Affleck lights a fire under the familiarity."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 571 words, 09/17/10
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Affleck turns the familiar here -- yet another one-last-heist flick -- into something fresh and exciting and deeply suspenseful and wholly beguiling. There isn't a single misstep..."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 926 words, 09/15/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a solid, minor entry in the annals of Boston crime drama.... the performances are strong enough to make it watchable..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 794 words, 09/17/10
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: GOOD "Affleck the movie director makes you truly, badly want his bunch of ne'er-do-wells to pull off their heists without a scratch, and you can't ask for much more than that."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,025 words, 09/13/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a fast-paced, character-driven heist movie that combines robberies with romance and solidifies Affleck's reputation as an actor with a genuine gift for directing."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 789 words, 09/17/10
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: WEAK "...closer to a mediocre, generic imitation of Lehane than to the real thing.... Affleck stages reasonably competent heist scenes... These get bigger and sillier as they go along..."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 927 words, 09/17/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: GOOD "...while it pulses with atmosphere, this tale sacrifices some of 'Gone Baby Gone's' troubling ambiguity and emotional force in pursuit of broader, more action-driven appeal."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,007 words, 09/08/10
Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "...for all their well-played grit, the characters resolutely remain types, and for all the well-choreographed action, the outcome doesn't matter nearly as much as it should."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 933 words, 09/08/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a fast-paced, character-driven heist movie that combines robberies with romance and solidifies Affleck's reputation as an actor with a genuine gift for directing."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 789 words, 09/17/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a solid, minor entry in the annals of Boston crime drama.... the performances are strong enough to make it watchable..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 794 words, 09/17/10
14.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Town's reviews are separated by an average 14.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Town (50 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Town's reviews cover 96.6% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 31,450 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 629 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Town Coverage, Volume & Length (50 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 29.1 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Town's reviews on average broke 29.1 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Town's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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