MOVIE NEWS – Ben Affleck’s 2010 bank robbery thriller The Town has been given a perfect score by a former real-life bank robber who says the details of the film are “absolutely spot on”.

A real bank robber appreciates the realism of Ben Affleck’s heist film The Town. Starring in 2010’s The Town, Affleck plays a member of a bank robbery gang who becomes romantically involved with the victim of one of his previous robberies while planning a daring heist at Boston’s Fenway Park. Boasting an impressive supporting cast including Blake Lively, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm and Chris Cooper, The Town has also been a hit with critics, as reflected by its 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Affleck’s The Town does indeed boast great acting, but the heist scenes also seem particularly realistic and exciting, and it turns out that the movie’s heist scenes are pretty realistic, at least according to one expert. In a video for Insider, former bank robber Cain Vincent Dyer analyzes The City, calling the film “absolutely accurate” when it comes to the details of the heist. Dyer praises the film for showing real-life bank robber tricks like using a police scanner and switching cars after the heist. Check out what Dyer had to say below (around :31 of the clip):

“Totally accurate. Truck robberies are quite common. I think there was one in Los Angeles a week ago. They said about $30,000 was taken. I believe it came down to $15,000 after the review. That’s quite a bit compared to attacking an armored car. The reason: Banks get their money from there. At the same time, you increase the danger a hundredfold. You know, armored car security guards are trained to shoot back and protect that money. This is much different than a bank’s mindset, which might typically be to let you get the money and just get the hell out of there.

I used police scanners in many of my bank robberies. I became involved in police activity within a specific area. I knew when they were coming, I knew how much time you had left in there. So, yes, a band of this caliber definitely has such a tool.

We also see them changing cars after the robbery, which is very, very, very common. All the cars they use are stolen, more than likely, right? Instead of stealing a car, what I would do is look up the make and model of my car and steal the license plate from an identical car. There are many people in the crew who are like this. You must give the city 10 points.”

The Town is the pinnacle of Affleck’s directorial career

Affleck rose to fame as the star of films such as Good Will Hunting, Armageddon, All Fear and Daredevil, and made his directorial debut with 2007’s Gone Baby Gone. The critically acclaimed thriller launched Affleck’s directorial career, which included 2010’s The Town and then the true-life drama Argo, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Unfortunately, Affleck’s next film, Live By Night, failed with critical and commercial failure, and he didn’t direct again until 2023’s Air, which brought him back into the good graces of critics, currently holding a 93% Rotten Tomatoes rating.

Although Argo was the film that took home Oscar gold, The Town is now more highly regarded and represents the true pinnacle of Affleck’s directorial career to date. The Town is not only a tight thriller full of strong characters, but it captures the flavor of Boston better than most films set in the city. Now, thanks to the input of heist expert Dyer, it has been confirmed that The Town’s tense heist scenes are exactly how real thieves operate.

Source: Screenrant