Rating: ****

The Town is a movie that has been adapted from author Chock Hogan's fictional piece Prince of Thieves. And even though it may have borrowed its central theme from the book, it has a very unique Ben Affleck flavour and style to it. And why not, after all he co-wrote it, directed in it and also acted in it.

And Affleck is certainly a multi-tasker, as he plays all his roles to perfection. Expect a lot of action, some adrenaline rushing chase sequences and a done to death theme brought back to life with the pure passion and craft of a fairly new filmmaker.

A group of four friends plans a heist and rob Cambridge Bank. They take the Bank manager, Rebecca, as hostage. But Doug, Ben Affleck, follows her after her release and the two fall in love. But now Doug's hesitation to pull off more heists begins to bother Fergie, the man for whom the gang is working. And Fergie  will adopt all pressure tactics possible to bring Doug back into the game.

The plot of the film is evidently simple, and we are not new to films based on robberies. But the way Affleck captures the local flavour of Boston is quite  remarkable. It can certainly be owed to his Masachussets upbrining, but all that apart, the fact that Affleck's calling lies in direction is no more a secret.

I think dealing with a storyline that hardly offers any novelty and creating it into film that seems novel in most ways is surely the work of a passionate filmmaker.

You are going to love the film for its chase sequences. It will also be interesting to note that the movie isnt only about the theft but also the thieves. Affleck has also managed to tap the local flavour with absolute precision.

The characters of the film are very well etched and Affleck takes a moment to delve deep into the disturbing past of all the characters in the film. The pace of the film will keep you engaged at all times. The film has some delighful and memorable performances. It is like most actors were able to don the skin of their characters quite effortlessly.

The only negative about the film can be its occasional verbosity. It wuld have been alrite if the dialogue had been completely hard hitting. However in this case, they aren't that effective that we may want to trade them for the action. But all said and done, the movie has enough character to speak for itself even without the dialogues.