☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roger Ebert’s three-star review is discussed for praising Renner and Affleck’s direction.
In the discussion (2)
- Ebert awarded The Town three stars.
- The review praised Jeremy Renner’s performance and Ben Affleck’s direction.
The North End heist receives two votes over the opening robbery, vigilante beating, lunch encounter, Fenway climax, Fergie confrontation, and interrogation.
In the discussion (18)
- The opening bank robbery is nominated.
- The pre-robbery meeting and practical details are praised.
- Claire working the safe and Doug calming her are praised.
- Claire walking blindfolded to the water and the title card are praised.
- Doug asking Jim for help without explaining why is nominated.
- Jim shooting the attackers’ legs and “there goes college soccer” are praised.
- Doug, Claire, and Jim’s lunch encounter is nominated.
- Doug covering Jim’s neck tattoo is highlighted.
- Doug and Jim’s post-lunch confrontation is nominated.
- The North End robbery is an early leading choice and receives two final votes.
- The construction-detail cop looking away is praised.
- Doug and Jim’s cemetery fight is nominated.
- Doug confronting Fergie and learning about his mother is nominated.
- Hamm interrogating Blake Lively at Sully’s is nominated.
- The Fenway heist and shootout receive Russillo’s final vote.
- Doug killing Fergie is nominated.
- Hamm interrogating Affleck is nominated as the movie’s Heat diner scene.
- Bill and Chris make the North End robbery their final choices.
Charlestown detail, accents, Lively, the theatrical ending, Renner, the cop looking away, and local texture lead aged-best.
In the discussion (13)
- The Jack Clark Red Sox line is praised as specific local humor.
- Affleck’s Boston accent is praised.
- Blake Lively’s “why am I always the one getting used?” delivery is praised.
- Lively’s performance is defended.
- The decision not to use the ending where Doug dies is praised.
- The Old Sully’s and New Sully’s locations are praised.
- The “not fucking around crew” phrase is praised.
- Hamm’s “national organization” intimidation is praised.
- The Boston dating scene is judged accurately captured.
- Fergie’s bodyguard’s 02129 tattoo is praised.
- Doug watching Bones is praised as character detail.
- Pete Postlethwaite’s Fergie speech is praised.
- Jeremy Renner’s performance is selected as the overall aged-best answer.
Two research anecdotes cover Lively’s month with Charlestown locals and her surprise that Affleck knew Matt Damon.
The panel proposes a new category here.
In the discussion (4)
- The panel explicitly proposes Blake Lively Story Time as a new category for this episode.
- Lively reportedly spent a month with Charlestown locals in apartments and bars.
- Affleck recalled Lively asking how he knew “Jason Bourne” after seeing Damon’s childhood home.
- The anecdote is interpreted as a generational break from the Matt-and-Ben publicity era.
Helicopter shots, Hamm’s accent, prison material, Heat echoes, law-enforcement logic, escape mechanics, and generic shirts lead aged-worst.
In the discussion (9)
- The movie uses too many overhead helicopter shots.
- Hamm’s brief mock-Boston accent is debated as intentionally bad.
- The Chris Cooper prison scene is considered emotionally inert by one host.
- Several surveillance and shootout beats directly echo Heat.
- The film’s redemptive ending for Doug is questioned given the violence.
- The FBI’s inability to secure charges or block escape routes is questioned.
- Doug escaping in an MBTA uniform while carrying money is questioned.
- Generic Boston-themed T-shirts are criticized.
- The film’s treatment of its murderers is considered harder to defend in a current context.
Adrian Lyne nearly directed; Mark Wahlberg was wanted for Jim before Casey Affleck suggested Jeremy Renner.
In the discussion (5)
- Adrian Lyne was considered as director.
- Affleck originally wanted Mark Wahlberg for Jim.
- Wahlberg was unavailable while making The Fighter.
- Casey Affleck suggested Jeremy Renner after working with him.
- Renner had completed The Hurt Locker before The Town’s release.
Slaine wins for his understated authenticity as the heist driver.
In the discussion (3)
- Slaine is identified as the Fenway-heist ambulance driver and a Gone Baby Gone performer.
- His authentic, unforced Boston presence is praised.
- Slaine is selected.
Jon Hamm’s interrogation intensity is the central nominee alongside Pete Postlethwaite and Titus Welliver.
In the discussion (4)
- Pete Postlethwaite’s Fergie is nominated.
- Jon Hamm is nominated for repeatedly entering scenes at maximum intensity.
- The Affleck interrogation is treated as Hamm’s would-be showcase clip.
- Titus Welliver is nominated.
Blake Lively wins over Fergie; Renner is ruled too large a presence.
In the discussion (4)
- The panel keeps the Dion Waiters name rather than changing it to Fred VanVleet.
- Blake Lively is selected for extraordinary impact in roughly four scenes.
- Jeremy Renner is ruled too central.
- Fergie is offered as an alternative.
The 2004 Red Sox comeback wins over The Town heist, Fever Pitch, and Moonlight Graham.
The panel proposes a new category here.
In the discussion (5)
- The panel explicitly creates Most Improbable Fenway Park Scene Ever.
- The Town’s Fenway heist is nominated.
- Drew Barrymore crossing the field in Fever Pitch is nominated.
- Moonlight Graham appearing on the scoreboard in Field of Dreams is nominated.
- The real 2004 Red Sox comeback is selected.
Research covers the Melrose bank location, prison filming, and the disputed Charlestown bank-robbery statistics.
In the discussion (6)
- A former MassBank branch in Melrose was used for the opening robbery.
- The Chris Cooper scene was filmed at MCI Cedar Junction, reportedly a first for the prison.
- The trailer claimed more than 300 annual bank robberies centered in Charlestown.
- Contemporary Massachusetts robbery statistics were much lower.
- Charlestown residents objected to the portrayal.
- The source book was set in the mid-1990s, when the reputation fit better.
Rebecca Hall, Fenway, Charlestown, Slaine, and Blake Lively receive separate apex judgments.
In the discussion (6)
- Rebecca Hall is judged below her commercial apex.
- Hall’s casting and look are praised as right for Claire.
- A personal Rebecca Hall anecdote is recounted.
- Fenway Park is assessed after two World Series titles and as a film location.
- Charlestown’s historical apex is jokingly placed in the Revolution.
- Blake Lively is judged at her apex by one host and defended by the others.
Chris’s DWI timing, heist disclosure, sibling casting, Claire, voices, uniforms, hockey, and rink funding produce distinct nitpicks.
In the discussion (8)
- Chris is thrown out of the Fenway hotel and gets a DWI almost immediately.
- Chris knowing and disclosing the Fenway plan is confusing without deleted scenes.
- Renner and Lively’s physical mismatch as siblings is questioned.
- Jim not killing Claire is questioned.
- Claire’s exposure to the investigation should make her a larger police target.
- Claire should recognize Doug’s voice from the robbery.
- Doug’s abrupt end as a third-round Bruins pick is questioned.
- The ice-rink donation funded with stolen money is questioned.
“There goes college soccer” wins over Jack Clark, townie Christmas, and several intimidation lines.
In the discussion (5)
- The Jack Clark line is nominated.
- “There goes college soccer” is selected.
- “Oxy, guns—it’s like townie Christmas” is nominated.
- The surveillance-photo barbecue line is nominated.
- Doug’s critique of the guard who thinks he is special forces is nominated.
A ten-episode series could use the four-hour material and deepen Hamm, Jim, Chris, and Doug’s hockey story.
In the discussion (5)
- The director’s cut already approaches limited-series length.
- A series could expand Jim’s backstory.
- A series could expand Hamm’s character and interest in Claire.
- A Krista Coughlin-focused episode is proposed.
- A minor-league hockey episode for Doug is proposed.
Uniforms, the rink, Shine’s future, Fenway cash, role swaps, and Doug’s hockey ability drive the questions.
In the discussion (8)
- Where did the gang get all the official uniforms?
- How did Claire establish the rink with stolen money?
- What happens to Shine Coughlin as a teenager?
- Why would Red Sox ownership show Fenway as easy to rob?
- Would swapping Blake Lively and Rebecca Hall improve the film?
- Would swapping Affleck and Renner improve the film?
- How good at hockey was Doug?
- Would a local Bruins draft pick be too recognizable to become a bank robber?
The panel splits among Jeremy Renner, Ben Affleck, and Boston.
In the discussion (4)
- Jeremy Renner is selected by one host without hesitation.
- Ben Affleck is selected for directing and launching his next career phase.
- Boston is selected as the third answer.
- A long Revolutionary-era anecdote argues that the city’s combative identity spans centuries.
Roger Ebert's review
Most Rewatchable Scene
What’s Aged the Best?
What’s Aged the Worst?
The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award
The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award
The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance
Apex Mountain
The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie
Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake
Who Won the Movie?