"I need your help. I can't tell you what it is, you can never ask me about it later, and we're gonna hurt some people."

Year: 2010

Director: Ben Affleck

Writers: Peter Craig, Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard, Chuck Hogan (novel Prince Of Thieves)

A criminal named Doug MacRay is planning to leave the crimes behind, while falling for a woman they once held a hostage during a bank robbery and trying to keep away from  an FBI agent hunting him and the rest of the group.

My friend Elli was once looking for this movie, which is why I actually remembered it. My friend eventually did find this, but she still hasn't seen it. I found this in the library, and I was already about to see it, because, well, it was directed by Ben Affleck, and I was sort of impressed by Gone Baby Gone, though I wanted to see his other works, meaning The Town or Argo. Like, what can you say after seeing one movie?

Actually the beginning of The Town reminded me very much of Gone Baby Gone. There are shots of people just walking in the streets, and you can hear the main characters (sort of) monologue. Very similar, though this time it wasn't simply like a passage from the novel, adapted somehow to fit the beginning. Because sometimes book beginnings work - long text, maybe about the main character's thoughts - but you can't start a movie just like that. Or you can, but most often it doesn't work at all. In The Town it worked, because the main character's speech wasn't just some inner thoughts, it was what he was saying to his... colleagues? Friends? I'm gonna go with partners in crime. 

There was one line in the middle of it all that really kind of stroke, even though it was sort of irrelevant to the plot. Anyway, this FBI agent says to the co-workers: "And we'll never get 24 hour surveillance unless one of these idiots converts to Islam." And I just thought, oh snap, that is way too true. And even though this movie didn't focus on any prejudice or judgement towards Muslims, it still was very true and a good point. 

The music in this movie was alright, just alright. It was typical. Actually it vaguely reminded me of something else, but I can't really say what.

But the plot, well, I wasn't expecting too much, so I wasn't disappointed. The plot, the story, is very typical and very predictable. After you get used to the movie and realise what it's going to be about, it's not going to surprise you at all. There is no one moment you won't see coming. So it was very typical, could've been a lot better.

Then again, this movie did make me feel something - mostly frustration. No, not in the way that I was frustrated with the movie, no. I was frustrated because the FBI was way too clever. I sort of wanted Doug and his pals to not become suspects so right away. If this movie was made from the point of view of the "good guys", FBI agents, they would've figured it out too soon, and it would've been a very short movie. But the point was for that to be frustrating.

This movie is alright. It's worth seeing if you are into thrillers, movies with guns, a glimpse of romance (not the "I love you more than life" kind of love just simple), Jeremy Renner, Ben Affleck, car chases... If you want something new and surprising, this movie won't give you that. 

By the way, is it just me or did Ben Affleck talk really weirdly like once in a while? Not all the time but suddenly it felt like he had a really weird accent or some problems with speech, I wasn't even sure. (If it was an accent, maybe he did it badly, I don't know.)

☆☆☆☆☆

5 / 10