No, this isn’t a feature length version of the fictional TV show Johnny Drama stars in on Entourage, nor is it a remake of the Turkish film from 1997. This is Ben Affleck‘s follow up to Gone Baby Gone, and his first turn both directing and starring in a film. The story follows a group of thieves led by Affleck and Jeremy Renner who cause subdued amounts of mayhem in downtown Boston. Jon Hamm gets the job of tracking the guys down, and there’s very little of the premise which isn’t of a ho-hum been-there/done-that variety. Cops, Robbers, chase sequences, moral dilemmas. It would be an easy cinematic concept to write off if it hadn’t given us some of the greatest genre films in movie history, most recently with the masterful The Departed. Does Affleck‘s townie drama reach the heights of its predecessors?

The short answer is no. The longer answer is not really. It’s not so much that any single element is bad, just that the film feels like it suffers a case of mistaken identity… several times. Each act could be considered an entirely different film, with the third act making little or no logical progression from the previous two. Again, it’s not that its badly done, just that it seems to come so out of left-field that the audience is wondering why it’s happening at all. Each piece is executed with a commendable level of honesty and realism, and the moving parts never grind on each other in a painful way. The truth is that there are a bunch of half formed thoughts fighting for supremacy, and the movie ends up being a best-of crime drama montage instead of the powerful piece of cinema it aims to be.

The biggest and most obvious confusion comes directly from the central conceit of the film. These guys are dime-a-dozen pickpockets aiming for the en route bank money coming out of armored cars. They land scores in the six-figure range on regularity, and never seem to want anything more than that. When Affleck tries to get out of the game, they bring him in for the fateful “one last job.” Is this job another armored car, or even, in escalation, several armored cars? No. They have to rob Fenway Park the morning after a Yankees/Red Sox game when the cash room has around $3.5 million. Huh? Sure they execute their plans with the same efficiency and enthusiasm as the other heists we’ve seen them pull, but come on, when did this become an Ocean’s Eleven movie? It doesn’t make sense in the context of the film, and though the audience is willing to go there, it sets up a straining of credibility that goes against the realism of the rest of the film. One of the central car chases is satisfyingly visceral and natural, among the most

grounded in recent memory, and it seems to have come from an entirely different movie by comparison. See where the wheels start falling off yet?

I guess my biggest gripe is the ending. Not because the characters are bad (though the women do tend to throw themselves into Affleck‘s bed) or the actors playing them don’t manage to make it work, (Rebecca Hall and John Hamm are particular standouts) but because it fails to maintain the basic principles the rest of the film is built on. The relationship between Affleck and Renner, on the other hand, is terrific, and their scenes are a huge help in elevating the material. They feel like genuine Boston guys, and the chemistry is as enjoyable as it is surprising. The film is actually quite funny as well, managing to keep you smiling even when about to burst into violence and bloodshed.

It has some of the best moments I’ve seen in this kind of film, and a lot of the worst, totaling a deeply flawed, but generally enjoyable package. I don’t feel like its able to rise above the story issues to achieve true greatness, but I don’t begrudge the solid sophomore effort either. Were it not for the few truly bright moments peppered throughout, I would label the film as a major disappointment. For the time being, consider it more irksome than unbearable, and know that while “okay” may be just what you’re looking for at the movie theater, this is one of those movies that should’ve been phenomenal. I look forward to the next project on the Affleck directorial slate, and if nothing else, this is confirmation that he’s finally found his calling as an artist. Maybe he can rope Matt Damon into the next one.

Synopsis:

Career thief Doug MacRay (Affleck) considers deepening his relationship with Claire (Hall), a bank teller who was traumatized by a recent heist — and who has no idea that Doug was behind the crime. Meanwhile, an investigator (Hamm), who is close to unmasking Doug’s secret life, wrestles with his feelings for Claire.