Trailer Review: The Town

Release Date: September 10, 2010

Website: Official The Town site

Starring: Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner, Chris Cooper, Pete Postlethwaite, Blake Lively

My Review: Hey, Jon Hamm has a large role in a nationally released movie! Here’s my $12, and can you please direct me to the concession stand?

OK, fine. If Mr. Hamm’s chiseled chin isn’t enough to get you interested in a movie, The Town has a lot of other things going for it:

* It’s a twisty crime thriller, which is the best kind of crime thriller there is. There are bank robbers in nightmare-inducing nun costumes, there’s an FBI agent determined to catch them, and there’s a bank manager who is traumatized after being taken hostage. And when these three stories collide, it will be epic.

* It’s directed and co-written by Ben Affleck. Say what you will about Affleck’s acting skills, but he’s proven that he can more than deftly direct (Gone, Baby, Gone) and write (Good Will Hunting) a good movie.

* It stars actors who can act, rather than relying on big-name, but ultimately vapid, “stars.” Jon Hamm is famous for a TV series (Mad Men), Rebecca Hall does mostly indie flicks and smaller roles alongside bigger names (Please Give, Vicky Cristina Barcelona), and Jeremy Renner just became known last year when he appeared in a small war movie that happened to hit it big (The Hurt Locker). And yes, Ben Affleck is in it, too (doing his beloved working class Boston accent), but hopefully when working in a movie that’s obviously a passion project for him, he’ll bring his “A” game.

* The trailer reminds me of The Departed. That may sound like lazy filmmaking, but The Departed was excellent, and striving for excellence is never lazy.

Would I Pay For It?: Yes. I’m surprised I haven’t pre-ordered already.