In 2007, Ben Affleck resurrected a career that was on a downward trajectory by writing and directing Gone Baby Gone, a movie that garnered a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Amy Ryan. After appearing in a string of flops and fueling tabloid flames with his romance with J-Lo, Affleck wisely chose to stay strictly behind the camera; he never appeared in the film. The film received  universal praise, and critics hailed Affleck as promising director.

With the release of The Town, Affleck can either cement his reputation as a quality filmmaker, or he can fall victim to the sophomore slump we so often see talented directors experience. Fortunately, The Town is good enough to silence naysayers. It mines completely different territory than the quiet Gone Baby Gone, but it is a quality movie in its own right.

The Town plays more like an straight action film, and lacks the contemplative nature of Affleck’s first movie, but it is taut, well acted, and well directed. The film takes place in Charlestown, a suburb of Boston.  Charlestown has earned the dubious honor of being the bank robbery capital of the world. The town has cultivated a  crime syndicate capable of hitting a robbery  target with surgical precision.