The Town: Alternate Ending that might've lifted the movie up somewhat:

Those endings are fine in the context of movies that they work well in, but this isn't a realistic movie, real life consequences don't need to apply. For most of us, the great thing about movies is that we get to vicariously do things like rob banks or become gangsters without those real life consequences that you seem to so desperately need to impose on people who don't really exist.

But, hey keep tilting at those windmills. Let me know how that works out for you.

A movie can be entertaining and still be a good movie. Most movies are entertaining to some degree or other, regardless of subject matter, etc., or how unrealistic or realistic they may be. The fact that The Town was so unrealistic and unbelievable is one of the huge problems with this film. The fact that you don't seem to agree with my differences in opinion on this particular film overall and what I think might've made it better is one thing, but to resort to the kind of personal attacks, as in the last sentence of your post is quite another, and is uncalled for.

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"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)

Not half as funny as you, Godoggo!

So, is it safe to say that you hate The Town?

Is it the worst movie you have ever seen?

To me this comes across that you feel Claire somehow deserved what happened to her for choosing to walk a route that wasn't particularly safe. O_o If they had not thrown bottles at Claire then their actions would not have caused them to be attacked in return, so if they had more common sense not to throw bottles at people this whole thread could have been avoided... possibly.

From what I have read from this thread, WSSlover, it's my understanding that you are not happy with the ending, and you're right that there is nothing wrong with wanting the bad guys to get what they deserve, but everyone has to accept that in this instance it did not happen. Not to mention the fact that films would be far too predictable if all the bad guys got what they deserved, which would also result in movies being dull and repetitive. However, the studio offer an alternative ending on DVD, in high definition, no less, so it's a win-win. If it's any consolation, Ben Affleck also preferred the darker ending; in fact I think I read somewhere that he wanted Doug to die in Claire's apartment, with her holding him, mirroring what was written in the novel. So you are not alone in your turmoil. If nothing else there is at least a book with your preferred ending, with no option for an alternative.

Ben Affleck should never die. PERIOD.

Get it through your thick skull.

I think the original ending is better, honestly.

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~ I am tired of ze same old faces! Ze same old things!

That ending was terrible. Seriously. And I don't see how you would find it any more appealing than the one that was ultimately used.

Okay, so Doug got what (in your opinion) was coming to him. But then what about the guys who killed him? They're not exactly upstanding citizens either. I also find it hard to swallow that they'd find him and be ready to take him down so soon after that last shootout. If "reality" and believability is what you're after, you had more of it with the theatrical ending.

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Its kind of hard for me to say what ending was better. If I had read the book, maybe I would of had a better idea as to what ending would of been better. The theatrical ending was satisfying enough on film. I assume it was the same as the book.

I don't think that the theatrical version's ending was believable, Miss Vicky. First of all, there's no way that Doug would've realistically survived a shoot-out like the one in Fenway Park between Doug, his men, and the law. Doug would've realistically been killed like his buddies, or at best, permanently maimed.

Secondly, there's no way that Doug could've so easily gone and hopped a train to Miami, FL, because there would've been too much surveillance to make that possible.

It's true that the guys who gunned down Doug MacRay in retaliation for having permanently crippled them for having thrown bottles at Claire weren't nice guys either, but one has to understand why they acted as they did towards Doug in the end. First of all, there was probably a lot of racial antagonism between Doug, his men, and the Dominican guys and other "interlopers". Secondly, Doug and Jem should've thought of the possibility of retaliation before he and Jem broke into the Dominican guys' projects apartment, beat them and permanently injured them. Thirdly, Claire wasn't hurt; none of the bottles that the project guys threw at her hit her. I also might add that Claire didn't display good common sense when she walked through a housing project by herself on her way to work. All of the above having been said, yes, I do stand by my opinion that Doug MacRay, like his buddies/accomplices in crime, did get what was coming to him. Karma can be a b**tch, but hey..that's to be expected.

Also, who's to say that the Dominican guys who gunned down Doug MacRay didn't get caught, tried and sent to jail? They probably did.

Actually, flipmodes, I did read Chuck Hogan's novel, Prince of Thieves, on which The Town (film) was based, after seeing the movie, and the ending in the book was way different than that in the theatrical version of the film; In the book, Doug becomes involved in a shoot-out with Fergie the Florist, is mortally wounded in the neck. Doug makes it all the way to Claire's Charlestown condo, where he ultimately bleeds to death, in her arms, on her living-room carpet.

Frankly, the ending in the theatrical version of The Town, where Doug gets away with the help of Claire, as well as the tepid, tiresome Doug-Claire romance scenes and over-the-top shoot-outs and car chases/crashes, really helped ruin the film, for me.

To each their own, Proximity, but I feel that the Alternate Ending of The Town made much, much more sense, and provided closure, neither of which the theatrical ending did for me.

You're right, Welles. I wasn't happy with the ending in the theatrical version of The Town...at all. I didn't like the fact that Doug became a fugitive from the law thanks to Claire's having obstructed justice with a "sunny days" tip-off to him right when the Feds were on the verge of catching Doug and sending him to prison where they belong. I'm aware that Ben Affleck preferred the darker ending. So did I, frankly.

I read the book Prince of Thieves, on which The Town was based, after having seen the movie, and liked the book, including the end better than the film. I don't think that the Alternate Ending of the Town, where Doug gets what's coming to him would've made The Town any duller or more repetitive at all, Welles. In fact, the film would've been better, not only because Doug got his "just desserts", but because there also wouldn't have been so many loose ends in The Town.

Nobody deserves to have bottles thrown at them when they're walking down the street, but it's perfectly legitimate to say that Claire should've used more common sense, paid more attention to her surroundings, and not walked through a housing project by herself. No woman with a modicum of common sense would walk through such an unsafe area at any time of day or night by herself.

Imho, however, it's also fair to say that Doug and Jem went much too far when they not only permanently crippled the two Domican guys who'd thrown bottles at Claire, but ordered them to "get out of Charlestown". I'm glad Jem showed his face, thus enabling the Dominican guys to track Doug down in the Alternative Ending and extract well-deserved revenge on Doug.

I'll also say this: I don't think that I'd be impressed if any male friend of mine broke into some guy's house and permanently crippled them just because they'd thrown bottles at me, but then, I'm not stupid enough to walk through a housing project by myself, either.

I happen to have a different opinion! Get that through your thick skull, buster!

Let me put it this way, Sexy Celebrity: Both The Town and 1776 are tied for being the worst movies I've ever seen. The Town, in a way, dwarfs 1776 a little bit, because, as boring as 1776 was, I've never, ever seen a film that engendered so much anger and resentment in me as The Town.

Take a chill pill.

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I've sworn not to get sucked into this again, so I'll just suggest that other people study this statement carefully in the context of this discussion and try to spot the logic problem.

I think it would be better for WSSlover's peace of mind to just accept that some movies aren't going to go the way she thinks they should.

I really want a The Town part II after all of this.

This is not a valid argument for the alternate ending over the theatrical one, as Doug clearly survived that shoot-out in both versions.



And this justifies murder, how? I'm not saying Doug didn't have it coming, but you seem to be all for wrong-doers being brought to justice, yet this ending doesn't fit with that ideal any more than the theatrical version did.

Also not a valid argument as I could just as easily turn that around and say of the theatrical version: "Who's to say that Doug succeeds in evading capture and is never brought to justice?"