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"THE TOWN" (2010) (Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Extreme Heavy Extreme Heavy Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Extreme Mild Heavy Heavy Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Mild Heavy Heavy Extreme QUICK TAKE: Drama: The head of a crew of bank robbers must contend with various issues, including wanting to get out of the business, being pursued by an FBI agent, and dating one of their former hostages who's unaware of his activities. PLOT: The Boston neighborhood of Charlestown is known for its high rate of bank and armed car robberies. One of the more prolific thieves is Doug MacRay (BEN AFFLECK), a once promising hockey player who could have used that career to avoid the same prison fate that befell his father, Stephen (CHRIS COOPER). Now, Doug works for his father's former boss, Fergus "Fergie" Colm (PETE POSTLETHWAITE), a florist who's really a criminal ringleader and drug dealer whose orders are enforced by his burly goon, Rusty (DENNIS McLAUGHLIN). Along with Albert "Gloansy" Magloan (SLAINE) and Desmond Elden (OWEN BURKE), Doug's longtime friend James "Jem" Coughlin (JEREMY RENNER) makes up his crew and they've just robbed a local bank. During that, the volatile Jem decided they might need a hostage to escape, and thus kidnapped bank manager Claire Keesey (REBECCA HALL). She's released unharmed, but the crew worries when they realize she lives just four blocks from them. Although they were masked during the robbery, Jem views her as a potential threat, especially since she's now been interviewed by FBI special agent Adam Frawley (JON HAMM). Knowing they can't afford to have Jem do anything that will put more heat on them, Doug takes the lead in figuring out what Claire knows and has told Frawley. Pretending to meet her by accident, he realizes she's probably little threat to blowing their cover, but doesn't expect to fall for her, especially since he has something of a relationship with Jem's sister, Krista (BLAKE LIVELY). As Doug and Claire end up in a relationship, he ends up torn between his current lifestyle and wanting something completely different, all as Frawley tries to find and stop him and his crew before they strike again. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into action-dramas about cops and robbers or are fans of anyone in the cast, they might be interested (although older teens seem the most likely). WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: BEN AFFLECK plays the leader of a small crew of bank and armored car robbers. A recovering alcoholic and former aspiring hockey star, he's now followed in his dad's criminal footsteps, and doesn't kill anyone until several other criminals at the end of the film. He uses strong profanity, and has sex with both Claire and Krista (separately). REBECCA HALL plays a manager at one of the banks Doug's crew robs, where she's forced to open the safe at gunpoint and then endure being taken hostage (briefly and released unharmed). She uses strong profanity and has sex with Doug, unaware that her new beau is the ringleader of the bank robbery crew that kidnapped her. JON HAMM plays a special agent with the FBI who's hot on the bank robbers' trail and is determined to catch them. He use strong profanity, briefly uses some disparaging terms, and beats up a criminal while arresting him. JEREMY RENNER plays Doug's volatile lieutenant with a penchant for violence (including killing people and taking Claire hostage). He uses strong profanity and isn't happy to hear that his lifelong friend wants out of the robbery business. BLAKE LIVELY plays his sister who's dating or at minimum having a sexual relationship with Doug. She's a single mom who's labeled as a drug user (but isn't seen using, although she crashes her car while impaired) and uses strong profanity. SLAINE plays the third member of the bank robbery crew who shoots at others during heists, uses strong profanity, and briefly is seen snorting cocaine. OWEN BURKE plays the fourth member of the robbery crew who similarly shoots at others. PETE POSTLETHWAITE plays the crime boss who uses his florist shop as a cover for his criminal ways that include dealing drugs and using Doug's crew to knock off banks and armored cars. He threatens Doug and Claire harm if Doug doesn't go through with the latest planned robbery. CHRIS COOPER plays Doug's father, imprisoned for several life terms for his criminal ways. DENNIS McLAUGHLIN plays Fergie's armed goon and enforcer. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of at least 155 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present, as are several sexual encounters (movement & sounds) and brief nudity (a stripper's bare breasts). Violence consists of people being killed (by gunfire, while massive gun battles take place) and some who are beaten and roughed up. Some of that has bloody results, and those scenes and moments of potential peril could be unsettling and/or suspenseful to some viewers. The various bits of action and other behavior might be enticing for some kids to attempt to imitate, while bad attitudes, tense family material and thematic elements are also present. Characters drink (and one is noted as being a recovering alcoholic), some do drugs and there's drug-related material and dialogue, and a few smoke. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's handheld and thus bouncy camera footage in the film from time to time, while some chase scenes involve point of view footage and there's a spin-around camera shot near the end of the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE About what the robbers will do with their stolen money, Adam mentions various things, including drugs. The robbers and others, including Krista, drink in a bar, but Doug only has a tonic (being a recovering alcoholic). Doug attends an AA (or similar) meeting. Doug tells Claire she should let him buy her a drink. Some drugs are seen in a room where Adam and another agent arrest a man who states everyone's doing drugs. We see liquor along a bar wall. We see a beer by Jem. Doug states his mom left when he was just 6, that he heard his dad crying from that (and was seen with lots of cigarettes in the ashtray and drank a case of beer). Doug, his crew and Krista drink beer at a get-together. There's talk of Fergie's operation being involved in narcotics. Gloansy does a line of cocaine. Adam has a drink. Doug complains that all one of his crew members cares about is X-Box and coke (cocaine). Doug states that Fergie runs numbers and pumps dope (to others). In response, Fergie says he "clipped" Stephen's "nuts" the chemical way, by getting Stephen's wife hooked on dope and that she ended up hanging herself (in the past, when Doug was just a boy, and that Stephen couldn't tell him the truth). Fergie mentions the money earned by the sale of 60,000 beers at Fenway Park. Adam has a beer in a bar, as does Krista. Adam lets on that he knows Krista is a drug transporter and mentions the physical attributes of some U.S. currency, saying it isn't worth its own weight in OxyContin. When Doug tells Jem the latter should think of retiring (from robbery), Jem sarcastically asks if that means going down to Margaritaville, drinking and then being falling down drunk. We see the results of a one-car accident and hear that Krista was arrested for DWI. When Adam visits her in the hospital, he mentions her having OxyContin, coke and liquor in her system. BLOOD/GORE A bank manager is bloody after Jem bludgeons him with a weapon. Later, Claire finds spots of that blood on her shirt after it comes out of the washing machine. Adam hits, throws around and bashes a drug dealer (leaving blood on his pants leg). Some men are bloody after Doug and Jem beat them up. We see a flashback to photos of several dead and bloody people who Stephen killed. About Doug's mother being gone when Doug was just a boy, Stephen says young Doug cried so hard he was throwing up. We see a one-car accident and hear that Krista was arrested for DWI. When Adam visits her in the hospital, she has a bandage on her head with a little bit of blood soaked into that. A robber is bloody after being shot dead. A robber is shot repeatedly and killed (with bloody bullet hole wounds in his head/face). Doug shoots a goon dead (with bloody results) and then he and another criminal shoot each other, with that man being wounded (and bloody) and Doug surviving due to wearing a vest. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Doug and his crew are bank and armored car robbers, while Fergie runs the criminal and drug-dealing operation and Krista works with them in transporting drugs. One crew member refers to Claire (not in her presence) as a "bitch." Claire tells Adam that the bank robbers told her they'd come to her home and "f*ck" and kill her if she talked to the FBI. Doug makes it appear as if he accidentally meets Claire, and doesn't let her know that it was his crew who robbed her bank and briefly kidnapped her (he's initially doing this to see what she knows and/or has told the FBI -- he then falls for her but doesn't tell her the truth). After hearing men threw bottles at Claire sometime recently, Doug and Jem pay them a visit, bashing in the apartment door with a large mallet. Doug then hits one man with that, while Jem hits another man with a rod of some sort. These beatings continue for a little bit, with Jem then shooting the man in the leg several times as a further warning. We see a flashback of Gloansy trying to break into a car. A cop spots the robbers in their nun masks and armed with automatic weapons and looks the other way (thus letting them go) to avoid any conflict. Doug is defiant of Adam after being arrested, uses the term "dago" about cops, and then makes a comment about shirtless, lubed up guys for the cops. At the same time, Adam refers to a guard who was shot by the robbers as "two-thirds to a retard" and a "half-wit" and that maybe he should finish off the cop to go after more severe charges against the robbers. We see a flashback to Jem shooting and killing someone (we don't see the impact) to protect Doug (who isn't present) and that he served 9 years in prison for that. We see that Doug left a great deal of stolen money for Claire, buried in her garden in a duffle bag. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Doug and his crew wear skull masks while robbing a bank. There's some tension when Jem realizes Doug is now dating Claire, with Doug worrying that she'll see an identifiable tattoo on the back of Jem's neck. GUNS/WEAPONS Machine guns/Handguns/Shotguns/Percussion Grenades: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. Guards and cops in various scenes wear sidearms. Jem uses his hand to fake holding a gun to the back of Doug's head/neck (playfully). We briefly see footage from a first person shooter video game (just the weapon firing). We see Jem prepping his ammo. We see that Rusty has his gun at the ready in case Doug tries anything. We see Jem cleaning a weapon. Doug and Jem get into a gun standoff with several guards who then give up, thus allowing the robbers to cuff them on the floor. They then enter a cash room and hold handguns on the men inside. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "We're f*cked," "You m*therf*cker," "You f*ck," "F*ck is this?" "This f*cking asshole," "Speak of the f*cking devil," "How the f*ck are you gonna handle this?" "F*cking c*cks*cker," "What the f*ck /are you doing here/just happened?" "Sit the f*ck down," "Let's start f*cking all the witnesses," "Because they'd flip the f*ck out," "I know you're happy in f*ck city over there," "F*cking around," "F*cking douche bag," "Shut the f*ck up," "Oh f*ck," "Close the f*cking bridge," "Now that's how you drive a f*cking car," "The not f*cking around crowd," "You got it all f*cked up," "F*cking animals," "You f*cking dummies," "It will be me to tell you go f*ck yourself," "The whole f*cking thing," "A ton of f*cking heat on us," "A bunch of f*cking bullsh*t," "Who the f*ck you think you are?" "Get that in your f*cking head," "You go to f*cking hell," "Don't f*cking touch me," "It's gonna be a m*therf*cker," "F*ck you doing here?" "Such a trashy little f*ck-pad," "Get the f*ck off me," "You never f*cking saw me," "Figure it the f*ck out," "You f*cking smart-ass," "F*cking beautiful," "Let's get the f*ck out of here," "Go f*ck yourself" (written as a note), "Oh sh*t," "Started talking sh*t," "Can't take no sh*t," "Bullsh*t," "Such a d*ck," "Nuts" (testicles), "Bitch," "What, are you a trigger man now?" "Don't be so G*ddamn paranoid," "Loser," "Dago," "Two-thirds to a retard" and "Half-wit." The action, stunts and such might be enticing for some kids to try to imitate. The same holds true, possibly, for attempting to rob banks and such. Doug and his crew wear skull masks while robbing a bank. Doug's crew spreads bleach throughout the crime scene to cover their tracks and destroy evidence. We see that Doug's crew has torched their getaway van. Doug, Jem, Krista and various other characters have tattoos. We see a flashback of Gloansy trying to break into a car. Jem uses his hand to fake holding a gun to the back of Doug's head/neck (playfully). The crew wears nun masks for their next heist. Gloansy drives the crew's getaway car, swerving through traffic and driving the wrong way down the street to elude police. Doug and his crew don various outfits (cops, EMT, etc.) in order to blend in and/or escape from the cops and feds. We see that Doug left a great deal of stolen money for Claire, buried in her garden in a duffle bag. JUMP SCENES Some of the sudden and loud gunshots and the explosion of percussion grenades might startle some viewers. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A heavy amount of suspenseful, ominous and action-oriented music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) A song has several sexual uses of the "f" word in it. PROFANITY At least 155 "f" words (8 used sexually, 6 used with "mother"), 17 "s" words, 4 slang terms using male genitals ("d*ck," "c*cks*cker" and "pr*ck"), 1 using female ones ("p*ssy"), 6 asses (4 used with "hole"), 3 hells, 5 uses each of "G-damn" and "Jesus Christ" and 1 use each of "Jesus" and "Oh Jesus Christ." SEX/NUDITY Claire tells Adam that the bank robbers told her they'd come to her home and "f*ck" and kill her if she talked to the FBI. About what the robbers will do with their stolen money, Adam mentions various things, and we then see a quick view of a bare-breasted stripper doing her thing on a pole. Krista shows cleavage in a bar. After she and Doug chat, we next see them having sex, seated and upright but clothed, with her moving on top of him. We also hear sexual sounds and her suggestively asking what he wants and telling him to say he loves it. We then see Doug shirtless in bed (by himself) and then while working out. A song has several sexual uses of the "f" word in it. We see a woman in panties and a t-shirt try to stop Adam from beating up her man, but she's thrown to the floor by Adam's partner. Jem refers to Claire (not in her presence) as "p*ssy" for Doug. He then sarcastically states, "Let's start f*cking all the witnesses." A man tells another, "I know you're happy in f*ck city over there." Doug kisses Claire and we next see torso and up views of them having missionary position sex, with slight movement and slight sounds. When they're done, he lies on top of her (a more full view, including his bare back and one spread leg of hers seen coming out from beneath him). Jem showers but we don't see anything below the waist. After Adam says that Doug will be in prison dealing cigarettes to avoid sexual enslavement, Doug says something about shirtless, lubed up guys for the cops ("or whatever you're into"). About Krista's child, Doug says she isn't his. Claire is mad at Doug for not telling her the truth about him and asks when he was going to: "That night you f*cked me?" and then comments that he doesn't just kidnap his victims but "you have to f*ck them too." Thinking Adam is coming on to her, Krista uses some sexual talk, including the "f" word and needing to do something if he wants some "tail." Learning that Doug is going to skip town with another woman, Krista sarcastically comments on "such a trashy little f*ck-pad." SMOKING Fergie has a lit cigarette near him in several scenes, while Jem smokes in one. Doug states his mom left when he was just 6, that he heard his dad crying from that (and was seen with lots of cigarettes in the ashtray. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Doug states his mom left when he was just 6, that he heard his dad crying from that (and was seen with lots of cigarettes in the ashtray and drank a case of beer), and that Doug put up "missing mom" posters through the neighborhood. There's talk of Jem's parents being gone (one dead, the other maybe in prison?). Claire states that her brother died at a young age of lymphoma. Doug visits his father in prison and asks him why he never tried to find Doug's mother. Doug states that Fergie runs numbers and pumps dope (to others). In response, Fergie says he "clipped" Stephen's "nuts" the chemical way, by getting Stephen's wife hooked on dope and that she ended up hanging herself (in the past, when Doug was just a boy, and that Stephen couldn't tell him the truth). We see a one-car accident and hear that Krista was arrested for DWI. When Adam visits her in the hospital, he states that child protective services has taken her daughter and insinuates that if she helps him, that will help her and her daughter. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Criminals and law enforcement officials who work to stop them. How crime can run within families as well as neighborhoods. Doug attends an AA (or similar) meeting. Losing a parent at a young age. Claire states that her brother died at a young age of lymphoma. Doug throwing away his promising future (as a hockey player) and thus having to resort to a life of crime. VIOLENCE Some of those in Doug's masked crew knock a bank guard down, hit another, and throw/knock stuff around, all while holding automatic weapons on those inside. They also microwave the hard drives on which the security video surveillance footage is stored and make Claire open the safe at gunpoint. After they realize a silent arm has been trigger, Jem repeatedly bashes the manager's head with his weapon, bloodying the man. Jem then takes Claire hostage at gunpoint so that they can escape. We see that Doug's crew has torched their getaway van. Adam hits, throws around and bashes a drug dealer (leaving blood on his pants leg). When a woman tries to come to the man's aid, Adam's partner grabs the woman and throws her down. After hearing men threw bottles at Claire sometime recently, Doug and Jem pay them a visit, bashing in the apartment door with a large mallet. Doug then hits one man with that, while Jem hits another man with a rod of some sort. These beatings continue for a little bit, with Jem then shooting the man in the leg several times as a further warning. We see a flashback to photos of several dead and bloody people who Stephen killed. Those in the crew hit two guards during an armored car heist, but one of them or another then holds a gun to one. The robber inside the truck then shoots the guard who falls to the street. That's followed by a car chase, where various vehicles hit or crash into others. When a police car finally bumps them to a stop, crew members open fire on that car and others with machine guns, riddling them with bullets. The chase continues with more gunfire, followed by the crew dousing their getaway vehicle with something flammable and then lighting that, resulting in a flash explosion and fire. Jem punches Doug and the two then struggle. That ends when Jem pulls his handgun and uses it to hit Doug, downing him. We see a flashback to Jem shooting and killing someone (we don't see the impact) to protect Doug (who isn't present) and that he served 9 years in prison for that. Claire shoves Doug while mad at him. Doug grabs Krista and pushes her back against a wall. Doug and his crew, who are inside a building, realize there are tons of cops and FBI agents waiting outside. Seeing some sneaking up inside, Jem opens fire on them with a machine gun, and they return fire with the same. That results in a bigger gun battle involving more people during which Gloansy is hit and downed, but he's wearing a bulletproof vest. Needing to close an entrance, Doug fires his machine gun into the inside of an emergency response truck, leaving the driver with no recourse but to drive out and then be blasted by gunfire from the cops and agents thinking it's the robbers. The truck then crashes into vehicles and flips over. Agents throw percussion grenades into the building, briefly stunning the robbers. Desmond stands up and is immediately shot dead, prompting Gloansy to drive out in an ambulance as a sacrificial diversion to let the others escape, and he and the ambulance are riddled with shots from machine guns and shotguns, leaving him dead and bloody. Adam follows Jem who turns and shoots a machine gun at him, with Adam ducking and scrambling around a vehicle as Jem pursues him, stilling shooting his machine gun. But Adam gets off one shotgun blast, missing but chasing off Jem. In an intersection, Jem shoots many police cars and such with his machine gun, but is shot in the chest (he appears to be wearing a vest) and then the leg (by a shotgun blast from Adam). He then scrambles for cover and fires his handgun at Adam. A robber is shot repeatedly and killed (with bloody bullet hole wounds in his head/face). Doug shoots a goon dead (with bloody results) and then he and another criminal shoot each other, with that man being wounded (and bloody) and Doug surviving due to wearing a vest. Doug then shoots the man in the crotch (not seen) as revenge for a past action. Reviewed September 14, 2010 / Posted September 17, 2010

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