The Town • The Next Reel

Ben Affleck made a smart move when he decided to start directing films. He had made some bad career moves as an actor and was fizzling out. With his 2007 directorial debut "Gone Baby Gone," he proved he had chops — and that they weren't in acting. He's a great director. With "The Town," his 2010 heist film, he again shows he knows how to write and direct a great film, and can still act as long as he's in the right material. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Heist Series with Affleck's great bank robber film. We talk about the amazing talent all through the film — Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Blake Lively, Jon Hamm, Chris Cooper, Pete Postlethwaite, and more — and how they bring this world of robbers to gritty life. We chat about the changes the film went through from the original theatrical cut to the extended cut to the extended cut with alternate ending and how the alterations affected the story. We chat about the nature of the script, adapted from Chuck Hogan's novel "Prince of Thieves," and why it works so effectively even if it is formulaic. And we run through the wide array of reviews — from hating it to loving it — and deliberate on why we think the opinions vary so much with this film. It's a great and fun entry into our Heist Series and one well worth talking about. Listen in! The Next Reel Family of Film Shows:Cinema Scope: Bridging Genres, Subgenres, and Movements | The Film Board | Movies We Like | The Next Reel | Sitting in the DarkConnect With Us:Web | Letterboxd | Flickchart | Instagram | Bluesky | YouTube | DiscordYour Hosts: Andy | PeteMerch Store | Audible