The Town is set in the Charlestowne area of Boston, which is notorious for robberies. As the film opens, a crew comprised of Doug (Ben Affleck), James (Jeremy Renner), Albert (Slaine), and Desmond (Owen Burke), rob a bank. Their approach is quick and clinical, but, as a precaution, they take a hostage, Claire (Rebecca Hall), who they release a short time later. FBI Agent Frawley (Jon Hamm) questions the traumatized woman, but can't get much information from her. Meanwhile, James is convinced that Rebecca can ID the robbers, so Doug agrees to check her out. He follows the woman, strikes up a conversation with her, and is immediately smitten with her. He tells James that they have nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, the crew continues to pull heists, while Doug gets more intimate with Claire. Agent Frawley searches for clues, and begins to suspect Doug and his friends based on their pasts. Taken with Claire, Doug begins to consider leaving Charlestowne, but how can one leave the only life that they've ever known?

Let's get something straight right off the bat: there is nothing in The Town which we haven't seen before. The story, based on a novel by Chuck Hogan, contains many familiar elements from heist movies: the well-staged robbery, the character who's a loose-cannon, the determined law-enforcement official, the love-interest, the big shoot-out, etc. I'm sure that many would compare parts of the movie to Heat, a film which I am not fond of.

The thing to keep in mind about The Town is that it's a very well-made movie, and this can certainly trump any lapses in originality. Film's in this genre can often be either too clinical or too macho, thus shunning any emotion. Co-Writer/Director Affleck is able to avoid this issue and he infuses the story with a good amount of feeling. This is the kind of movie where we know that we aren't supposed to side with the criminals, as they are, after all, criminals, but the film presents them in such a human manner that it's nearly impossible to not feel for them. True, the characters are little more than stereotypes, but we still root for Doug and fear James, which is exactly what the movie wants us to do. This energy begins not far into the movie and continues through to the fiery climax.

Having seen Gone Baby Gone and knowing Affleck's career, it's not entirely surprising that he could craft such believable drama. No, what is surprising is how well the action scenes are handled in The Town. The heist scenes, the finale, and best of all, the car chase, all look great and Affleck is able to squeeze a nice amount of tension out of them. However, if you think about it, Affleck has worked with John Woo and Michael Bay and he's bound to have picked up some pointers on how to shoot an action scene somewhere along the way.

All of these elements add up to a film which is a very satisfying experience. The movie does a great job of balancing the drama, action, and suspense. The story is a bit too streamlined at times (we know why they rob, but why do they do it so often?) and again, the ideas aren't very original, but The Town overcomes this to present itself as the best crime drama of the year.

The Town offers a lot of dropped rs on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Warner Home Video. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc features an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 17 Mbps. (When did Warner start doing AVC?) The image is sharp and clear, showing no defects from the source material. However, there is a fine sheen of grain on the image throughout the film, and I can't help but wonder if this was an intentional move to give the movie a more gritty look. The colors look fine and the picture is never overly dark or bright. The level of detail is very good, and some of the shots show a very impressive amount of depth. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 2.7 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo effects are good, most notably during crowd and street scenes. The surround sound effects really come to life during the action scenes, and we feel as if we are in the car with the bandits during the chase scene. The subwoofer effects are very well-done during these moments, with each gunshot feeling like a punch.

The Town Blu-ray Disc contains a small amount of extras. Viewers can choose to watch the film in "Ben's Boston" mode, in which you can stop the film at certain points to view behind-the-scenes extras. The six segments, which total 30 minutes, can also be watched as one long reel. It makes more sense to watch it this way, as it seems silly to stop the movie to watch a segment and then go back to the film. The six "Focus Points" take us inside the production, as we get a closer look at the locations, the staging of the heists, and Affleck as an actor and a director. The other extra is an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Affleck, which is available on both the theatrical version and the extended cut.

I never comment on cover art, but the art for The Town is awful. Yes, it portrays an important scene from the movie, but it makes it look as if the movie is about scary nuns.