The Town: A Stupid, Overrated, Crappy Movie:

Well, Yoda; if you want a reason for my not liking The Town, here it is:

The Town, imo, is a cheesy, overrated, crappy piece of junk, with mediocre actors and casting at best (with the exception of Jeremy Renner as "Jem", maybe). The Town, imo, carries a rather sordid message:

A) It puts law enforcement people in a bad light, and that the Federal agent who was assigned to pursue Doug MacRay and his band of thieves and bring them down was the bad guy, while they were the good guys. Of course, anybody who's had nasty experiences with cops and other law enforcement people would definitely view The Town a lot differently than I do, but that's their prerogative.

B) The Town also conveys the message that, as long as one can get away with it, it's okay to steal money that they have to right to, exploit people as go-betweens for their dirty work, and to put innocent people's lives and very safety in jeapardy in order to do it, and to abet professional armed felons and wanted fugitives by tipping then off to the Feds' presence, when the Feds are right on the verge of catching the criminal and bringing him to justice, and to take stolen money and supposedly donate it to a charity, instead of anonymously returning it to the authorities, as is proper.

C) To sum it up as briefly as I can, I resent the overall message that The Town conveys to me, which is another reason that I dislike this film so much, and I dislike the two leading protagonists in it, as well, to a point that I want them punished for their arrogance, stupidity and wrongdoing, which doesn't happen.

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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)

Thanks, filmgirlinterrupted. Your post says it all, in a nutshell! Right on!

I disliked this film not only because I thought the acting, except for Jeremy Renner's, was poor to mediocre, at best, and because of the message that it conveys; that it's okay to engage in criminal acts that really put innocent people's lives and safety in danger, and to rob them of money that they don't deserve to lose, and to be an accessory to such actions and behaviors (as Claire clearly was, imo), and to protect a professional armed felon and wanted fugitive (which Doug MacRay clearly was), if one can get away with it.

First of all, DrStrangelove, I can't force myself to enjoy a movie when I clearly don't.

Secondly, this was an instance where I admittedly rooted for and sympathized with FBI Special Agt. Frawley and his men, who were trying to do the job they were assigned to do...bring Doug MacRay and his men to justice and send them to a federal penitentiary where they belonged.

Just because Doug and Claire were protagonists doesn't mean that I had to root for or sympathize with them. Protagonists or not, Doug and Claire both deserved punishment for what they did, and they didn't get it.

Doug is a professional career criminal who clearly acted apart from his true personality, therefore hiding his true motives when he put the romance moves on Claire, and acted totally deceitful to her in the first place. This is something that a lot of criminals in real life (especially professional criminals like Doug MacRay was) do, in order to manipulate, control and take advantage of people who're gullible and unsuspecting, or willfully ignorant (as Claire was). Claire was either gullible or willfully stupid enough to rise to the bait, which is pathetic.

Dude, dude...please listen to me. Please.

None of what you're saying explains why The Town is a bad movie. It just explains why you think the characters are bad people. These are not the same thing. Sometimes good movies (or not-terrible movies, at least) can be made about bad people. I don't know why you think explaining how bad they are has anything to do with whether or not the movie is any good.

I keep saying this, but every time you just talk right past it and give me more descriptions of how the characters behave badly.

I don't think this is the movie's message at all. Tons of people die in it as a consequence of their decision to steal, for one. The one who gets away, Doug, spends the entire movie disenchanted with the lifestyle and trying to break free of it. It's a message about how bad crime is, and how hard it is to get free from once you're in it.

I feel like you're operating under the assumption that, because Doug is the protagonist, and he doesn't get some terrible comeuppance, therefore the movie is endorsing everything he does. I don't see how that follows, though. At most, it's endorsing his desire to stop being a criminal, which is a good thing.

Well, I need to watch it a few more times, but, I doubt my opinion of the movie will change much over time.

I LOVED The Town.

Like, I put it down in my list for that MoFo Top 25 of the 2000's thing that's going on. I really loved the movie. I thought it completely worked from beginning to end. I thought everything wrapped up amazingly. Was Ben Affleck using his girlfriend and being nasty to her? That I would have to go back and look at. But it didn't bother me when I saw it.

I've actually seen this twice, but the second time I didn't pay much attention, especially at the end. So the film isn't rock solid in my mind. But it left me breathless the first time I saw it. I might be a bit biased because I find Ben Affleck hot, and so is Jeremy Renner, but I mean, to me, it's like going into a fancy restaurant and expecting the food to be attractive. If it helps, that's good. But this was a great movie in my opinion.

I wanted to actually review the movie in my review thread after I watched it, but I just couldn't. It was so good that I couldn't think of the right things to say about it. I felt intimidated by its greatness. It's the kind of thing you have to watch more than once before you open your mouth, at least if you're me.

Sorry girl, have to disagree with you on this one. Why do some people see one thing and then expect it to be another? It's like expecting a good boxer to have good diction and have an inspiring life.
The Town is an action movie, plain and simple. Good action. And that's all it is. Does it have to send a message of good moral values?
Ben Affleck is a good looking guy and for this movie maybe that's what's more required than some nerd that can do Shakespearre.
I liked Raindeer Games , too, and I didn't think that it should be compared to Heat, but Raindeer Games is still a good action movie.

I liked the Town.

Can someone give me a few examples of "Heist" type movies that are better than The Town? (Except Heat obviously).

I hate threads like this. If you don't like something fine, voice it, but to devote an entire thread to thearing down a movie is not only negative, it's a waste of time.
Threads in general should be positive and encourage people to watch and share what we all love. There well always be a difference of opinion and that's understandable but to try to impose our own sense of self-righteousness and morality on others that are trying to enjoy a medium that enrichens their lives, is just plain silly.

The Town is a pretty solid flick in my book. And, I think it's a joke to knock Affleck for his directing skills. I think he's made some good flicks, Gone Baby Gone being the best.

talking about why we dislike movies is ok. some people like to start new threads for specific reviews and maybe they like to critique a movie and find out what others saw in it that they didn't; nothing wrong with that. also, it's possible that the discussion could prompt them to watch it again because sometimes we have different opinions upon multiple viewings.

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letterboxd

Yeah, it's just as valid to tell someone not to come into a thread with this kind of title if they don't want to hear the film criticized.

I can dig on the idea that it's probably better, all in all, to talk about the films you love rather than the ones you hate, but MoFo's for venting as much as praising, if that's what someone wants to do.

Amen, Ash & Yoda

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The title of the thread says it all. If you don't like "threads like this" you don't have to read them. Everyone is entitled to share their thoughts, whether they are overwhemingly positive or overwhelmingly negative.

And it's not about "self-righteousness" at all. If anything, I think it's about finding common ground. The person who started this thread wanted to share their opinion about a particular movie. Their opinion went against the consensus, which can be maddening!

Have you ever seen a movie that was critically-acclaimed/well-received/enjoyed by everyone you know, only to find that you HATED it? The first thing you'll want to do is find out if there are others you share your sentiment. Disliking a movie that is widely-praised can be an isolating feeling, so naturally, the person who started this thread wanted some camaraderie.

I hope this puts things into perspective for you

Let me put it this way: there must be some good and bad things about every movie. I understand that Hate is just as strong as (or even stronger than) Love, but no matter how much you hate, there's always something you can get into about some movie. They just aren't all black and white. Of course, don't quote me because tomorrow I might want to start a thread called "Taxi Driver: A Stupid, Overrated, Crappy Movie". I won't though because I've seen the error of my ways and understand all the positive things about it now. Seriously... but somebody else may start that thread.

P.S. I would have more respect for the OP if she didn't have to constantly tell everyone else periodically that they're flat-out wrong.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

OK, so I like that Citizen Kane isn't dubbed. See? Progress.

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We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...

C'mon, I know you can add a few more positive things about it. The music is quite nice, at least for a piece of crap...

I disagree, TheUsualSuspect. Good Will Hunting, as I pointed out in my post, is a movie that really worked, because Matt Damon and Ben Affleck worked well together, as main character (Damon, who played Will), and sidekick (Ben Affleck, who played his buddy, Chucky Sullivan). It's not the same as The Town, and can't be compared with it, really.

Since I never saw Heat, I can't compare it with anything, but all I'm saying is what I think of The Town; not a well-made film, plus it was quite overrated. The Town got no awards or accolades, because it didn't deserve any.