The Instigators

An ill-conceived heist goes from an initially lousy idea to a predictable disaster in The Instigators, a comedic caper centered around two dopes. Casey Affleck and Matt Damon play Cobby and Rory, blue-collar criminals enlisted by meager crime boss Besegai (Michael Stuhlbarg) to steal campaign contributions made to Boston’s corrupt incumbent, Mayor Miccelli (Ron Perlman). Why Besegai entrusts these two, along with the trigger-happy Scalvo (Jack Harlow), with such a high-profile crime is one of the many nonsensical aspects of this movie. Aiming for the sardonic buddy movie tone of Midnight Run (1988), director Doug Liman demonstrates no joy in his filmmaking, brings no dimension to his characters, and instills no intrigue into the story. The movie, enjoying a brief theatrical run before getting buried in its final resting place on AppleTV+, is Liman’s second streaming premiere this year after his silly but entertaining remake, Road House, for Prime Video. And despite the star-studded cast and talent behind the camera, The Instigators proves exceptional only for the degree to which it leaves no impression whatsoever. 

A movie like this is almost worse than an unmitigated disaster because when an experience is terrible or incompetent, at least I might have somewhere specific to apply my critical toolkit. The Instigators frustrates because it’s technically competent and remains watchable for its 101-minute runtime, yet it somehow evaporates from the mind once the end credits roll. The underdeveloped screenplay by Affleck and Chuck MacLean lends the material no personality, and the persistent banter between the two stars registers as more flatly lighthearted than genuinely funny or entertaining. In different hands, this scenario could be a riotous, madcap crime comedy with nonstop laughs and thrilling chases, reminiscent of something by the Coen brothers, following a pair of their typically dim-witted protagonists. Instead, it all just unfolds without much consequence, and everyone involved seems like they’re going through the motions. There’s no sense of danger, and though the characters establish personal stakes, the viewer is hard-pressed to care. 

The inevitable heist-gone-wrong finds Cobby and Rory recovering no booty from their score. But they end up with Miccelli’s bracelet, a MacGuffin that could lead them to an even bigger payday. In the chaos, a cop dies, and Cobby ends up shot in the shoulder, sending the two hoods—who couldn’t look more conspicuous in their jumpsuits and rolled-up ski masks—on the run from the Boston police. Ving Rhames plays the mayor’s flunky, part of a Special Operation Unit, who drives around in an enormous militarized vehicle. The actor grumbles his lines and looks stiff, like he threw out his back before the shoot. Meanwhile, Rory, vaguely suicidal and in therapy, enlists the help of his psychiatrist (Hong Chau), who breaks all manner of professional boundaries to assist. She even suggests becoming their hostage to counsel her patient during the getaway, with the sarcastic Cobby in the back seat, listening and mocking. Later, she reappears as a hostage negotiator in an absurd development during the climactic scene at the mayor’s office.

The cast goes a long way to make The Instigators passable, and their committed fans might find this material adequate for a lazy viewing. After all, the names Affleck and Damon have been consistent with quality for years, and any project with their names attached, either together or individually, piques my interest. Whether collaborating several times with Gus Van Sant and Steven Soderbergh or co-starring in a space epic for Christopher Nolan, their presence usually denotes reliable entertainment and often more. Both have won Oscars. Damon usually selects good projects, and Affleck regularly delivers intense, committed performances. But this production, developed by Artists Equity, the company founded by Damon and the other Affleck, Ben, leaves the actors with little to do. It’s not just Affleck and Damon, either. Alfred Molina appears for a few brief and forgettable scenes as Besegai’s right-hand man, Paul Walter Hauser has a small role as a foot soldier, and Toby Jones has a nothing part as the mayor’s attorney. The real accomplishment here is by whoever convinced all these talented people to sign on to this generic script. 

Liman attempts to visualize the proceedings with zippy camerawork to contrast the actors’ generally lifeless roles, performed without energy or enthusiasm. Backed by cinematographer Henry Braham and editor Saar Klein, Liman delivers an impressive mid-film car chase sequence to rival the one he shot 22 years ago with Damon in The Bourne Identity (2002). Not that the sequence causes the heart rate to rise. When the stakes have been so casually applied, the characters so thinly drawn, it’s difficult to care about anything happening. Affleck and Damon maintain a chummy attitude throughout, but their comedic bickering struggles to conjure laughs or even a smile. And while Liman received no end of criticism for Road House, at least, for better or worse, he made bold swings and delivered a movie with personality. There’s nothing so in-your-face here. The Instigators is not a bad or incompetent movie; it just lacks anything to distinguish it, apart from the marquee cast.