By Joshua Knopp/entertainment editor
The acting is also tremendous. Affleck heads a cast that includes Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Hall and a surprisingly dark performance from Blake Lively.
With a solid cast, a good script and a sufficiently complex plot, The Town is a great film that almost everyone who sees it will enjoy.
The film does not, however, deserve the overwhelming critical acclaim it is receiving. Just because a lot of people like it doesn’t mean a lot of people liked it that much.
While the negative reviews are few and far between, review aggregates give it marks slightly lower than that would indicate. In spite of the film’s wide appeal, it’s only been given three stars.
It’s hard to say what is holding The Town back. Some complaints have been lodged about the script being riddled with clichés and that Affleck has the camera focused a little too squarely on himself.
The scope of the movie is also at fault. It tries to be an action movie and a love story and a drama all at once and doesn’t commit enough to any of these to be competent within that genre.
The Town is a good movie but seems to be trying to be all things to all people. It carries itself around like a life-changing event and, really, it just isn’t.