Both Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner have been part of superhero teams, thanks to Affleck’s turn as Batman in the DC Snyderverse and Renner’s lengthy stint as Hawkeye in the “Avengers” films. But in 2010, the pair had a team-up of their own in a now-classic thriller that just missed our list of the best heist movies of all time. And it also happens to have just been made available for streaming on HBO Max.
Affleck writes, directs, and stars in “The Town” as Doug MacRay, leader of a team of professional criminals whose latest bank robbery sees them take a young woman named Claire (Rebecca Hall) hostage. After the ordeal is over — when the gang makes off with the loot and Claire is set free — MacRay begins an unlikely romance with the woman, who has no idea that he’s really a member of the gang of crooks who terrorized her. As the pair begin to bond, keeping his double life a secret becomes more difficult for Doug, even as his partner Jem (Renner) grows increasingly unhappy with his association with their former captive.
Earning Jeremy Renner his second Oscar nomination, “The Town” is as good a crime thriller as you’ll find. And though it never became an all-time classic, its arrival on HBO Max may help it find scores of new fans to add to its reputation.
Jeremy Renner doubted Ben Affleck’s ability while making The Town
It’s certainly not uncommon for a film’s director to also write the screenplay. But while Affleck had help on the script from co-writers Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard, he helmed “The Town” himself and also played the story’s main character. That made even co-star Jeremy Renner nervous, with Renner expressing hesitation over whether Affleck could tackle all of those roles, especially as it was just his second feature film as writer and director (he did not star in his first, “Gone Baby Gone”).
Talking to Backstage in 2012, Renner wasn’t shy about admitting he questioned Affleck’s ability to pull off the triple feat. “It was not an easy question to ask somebody, ‘What makes you think you can direct and star in this thing?'” Renner said. “But it’s an honest one, right?” Thankfully, Affleck — who admits he was intimidated by two of the film’s biggest action sequences — seemed to understand Renner’s concerns, having a heart-to-heart that eased Renner’s worries. “He was such an affable guy — and so insanely smart. He made me feel very comfortable, enough to be able to be very frank and honest with him,” Renner acknowledged.
In the end, Renner was fully convinced: “Heck yeah, I wanted to work with him and swing for the fences, without a doubt.” The result is a movie that stands as one of the best in each of their respective filmographies — and is now available to watch on HBO Max.