The Town – Somehow better than average

There are so many films out there about gangs of bank robbers versus the law that it's hard to come up with anything vaguely different. And, to be fair, 'The Town' doesn't really succeed. Now, although that may sound like a 'down-point,' despite its mediocre premise, it's actually quite good (if you're into gritty bank robbing films, anyway).

Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner play the lead bank robbers, while Jon Hamm heads up the FBI task force whose job it is to bring this particular gang to justice in Boston, which is - apparently - the city in America with the most bank robberies in the country.

Again, it's weird, but I can't really think of many major plus points. Yes, the lead cast are pretty 'A-list' (plus you have Rebecca Hall, Blake Lively and Pete Postlethwaite) to add to the heavyweights, but the story really is so little new that I don't understand quite why I like it so much!

I hear the original cut was around a massive four hours and director (also Ben Affleck) had to work hard to trim down the final edit to slightly under two hours. You may think that such a drastic loss would mean that it all feels really rushed. But, again, it doesn't.

There's just something about the film that really does work, even though it never really brings much that's new to the table. Personally, I really enjoyed Jon Hamm's performance, but it was Jeremy Renner who received a nod to an Academy Award for his supporting portrayal of a Boston gangster.

If you like your gangster films dark, gritty and - strangely - watchable, then you should definitely give this one a go. At least then if you like it I'll know it's not just me.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one