The Town (2010)

I've probably mentioned it before, but you invoke Heat (1995) at your peril. Thankfully for Ben Affleck in his directorial follow up to his wonderful debut, Gone Baby Gone (2007) he takes the themes of bank robbery and heists, and combines them very nicely with family issues and values. It's not an original concept, in fact there are many similarities with Michael Mann's Heat; Affleck's thief is the counterpoint to Jon Hamm's FBI agent much like Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. However, The Town excels in its own bubble of Charlestown, Boston, placing almost as much importance on the location and the family history of Affleck's crew as the jobs themselves. This keeps the film well balanced, and the action set pieces are very well shot, ensuring you are gripped for the duration. The Town was an important step for Affleck; his next feature, Argo (2012) went on to win best picture at the Oscars, although Affleck was somehow snubbed in the directing category. The Town proves his directing chops, and really nailed him down as a director to keep an eye on. And we should be glad we did. 7.9/10