The Town

There's nothing new about The Town: the one-last job against the protagonist's better judgement; the professional criminal unit locking horns with the forces of law and order; the volatile wildcard; the redemptive (and destructive) power of love. Echoes of several genre classics ripple throughout but the film never feels derivative. Partly this is because of the strong sense of place (Charlestown in Boston), partly because of the trio of muscular action scenes that grab the viewer's attention 100%. There's a white-knuckle car chase through narrow streets that's far more thrilling than any CGI-enhanced blockbuster (nothing can really beat the joy of *real* vehicles crashing into each other) and the final shootout is a cracker.
Of course there has to be more than mere action to make a film memorable and for the most part the dramatic scenes deliver. We get the contrast between FBI investigation and criminal planning, though there's no Heat-style mutual respect here between MacRay and Frawley. The latter is totally deteremined to put MacRay and his associates behind bars, despite the "Irish omerta" as he calls it as well as the limitations of the justice system (as he puts it, the only way he'll get 24 hour surveillance of the gang is if "one of these idiots converts to Islam") Crime in Charlestown is like a family business, passed down the generations: MacRay's unrepentent father is clearly going to die in jail and Jem's already has; the Florist tells the gang he knew all their fathers. And loyalty means everything. MacRay and Jem are bound by the murder committed (and time served) by the latter to protect his friend. He might be a dangerously unpredictable presence but he's genuinely outraged - and hurt - that MacRay could possibly want to walk away from everything. MacRay's natural instinct for self preservation goes out the window the minute he falls for the one person who could put them in jail (there's a wonderfully tense scene at a cafe when Jem, and his giveaway tattoo, unexpectedly disturbs the lovers) and triggers betrayals both large and small.