Banner image: Matt Damon and Casey Affleck in The Instigators. Courtesy of Apple TV+
Ocean’s 11 actors Matt Damon and Casey Affleck swap slick talking and suave suits for the mean streets of Boston in this heist-gone-wrong thriller/comedy for Apple TV+. But despite reuniting Damon with The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman, this affair falls far short of the pair’s previous outing.
The Instigators follows two down-and-out everymen as they go on the lam after a botched attempt to rob the city’s crooked mayor (Ron Perlman). Rory (Damon) is a desperate and depressed ex-marine looking to score just enough cash to reconnect with his teenage son and Cobby (Affleck) is a snarky, alcoholic ex-con with nothing to lose.
Hot on their heels is Ving Rhames as Frank Toomey, a seemingly superhuman detective with no oversight who’s tasked by Perlman’s character with retrieving a MacGuffin stolen by the two amateur thieves. Also along for the ride is Oscar nominee Hong Chau as Rory’s therapist, Dr Donna Rivera, who inevitably gets sucked into her patient’s extralegal shenanigans.
‘Shenanigans’ is a good word to describe The Instigators, as the flick follows its criminally inept protagonists as they bumble from one sticky situation to the next. Rory and Cobby’s luck may be unparalleled in cinema history, as they exhibit little to no agency, let alone guile, except for Cobby’s proclivity for blowing up buildings by causing gas leaks. It eventually gets tiresome to watch them cruise along completely by the grace of God, a feeling that’s bolstered by the uninspired plot.
Hong Chau, Casey Affleck, and Matt Damon in The Instigators. Courtesy of Apple TV+
On the other hand, the scene-level stuff between Damon, Affleck, and Chau is entertaining. It’s comedy with a little ‘c’, but the dynamic feels unforced thanks to thoughtful dialogue from Chuck MacLean and Affleck, who also boasts a writing credit. If there wasn’t a fair bit of improvising on set, it certainly feels like it, and there are plenty of chuckle-worthy, if not laugh-out-loud, moments throughout.
That said, there are a few gags that don’t really work, including a running bit where Dr Rivera slips into her shrinking duties, even after she’s all-to-willingly ‘taken hostage’ by the pair. Chau’s quietly sassy but dedicated psychiatrist frequently asks Rory questions like ‘How does that make you feel?’ while she’s sewing up a bullet hole in Cobby’s shoulder or clad in a flack jacket while negotiating for the police.
This runner is just one symptom of the frustratingly laid-back atmosphere that pervades the entire film. Even when they’re potentially facing twenty-to-life for their crimes, Rory seems strangely unbothered, treating the whole ordeal like a minor inconvenience. And, as far as Cobby’s concerned, it’s all one big joke. He spends half the runtime cracking-wise while lounging supine on sofas in their various hideouts. While this creates a unique dynamic between the two, setting them up for some amusing back-and-forth, it saps the film of any tension whatsoever.
Ving Rhames in The Instigators. Courtesy of Apple TV+
While Liman does a decent enough job at the helm, the film struggles to find a coherent tone throughout. On one hand, it’s a blue-collar alternative to glossy heist flicks like the Ocean’s series, dealing with bent politicians and small-time crooks, instead of high rollers and laser-guarded vaults. But this grounded vibe is strangely undermined by larger-than-life elements – most notably Rhames’ noirish, fedora-wearing special ops officer and his absurd armoured vehicle, which looks borrowed from the set of a Marvel movie.
The performances are a mixed bag too. Affleck is entertaining as the irreverent slacker, while Damon’s awkwardly diligent character is a little hard to pin down. For a relatively small affair, The Instigators boasts an impressive supporting cast, but much of it goes disappointingly underutilised. This is especially true for the likes of Alfred Molina, Toby Jones, and Black Bird’s Paul Walter Hauser. But Michael Stuhlberg is effective as always as the crime boss with anger management issues who organises the original smash-and-grab.
Overall, The Instigators is a watchable but ultimately unforgettable heist flick that somehow feels like an episode of television, rather than a full-blown film. While competently acted and directed, it fails to live up to its potential due to a messy plot, unstable tone, and glaring lack of suspense.
The Instigators is available to stream now on Apple TV+.
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