“The Instigators” follows two robbers who must go on the run with the help of one of their therapists after a theft goes awry.
Matt Damon has long been a favorite of mine, and Casey Affleck has consistently impressed with his performances. Director Doug Liman, meanwhile, has a knack for crafting thrilling, escapist action flicks – think “The Bourne Identity,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” and this year’s delectably fun remake of the Patrick Swayze classic, “Roadhouse.” So, with these three talents combining forces for “The Instigators,” I went in with high expectations. Unfortunately, what I got was a crushing disappointment.
The film attempts to recapture the magic of Damon and Affleck’s previous collaboration in Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eleven” but feels like a cheap imitation. Instead of that film’s witty banter and slick action, “The Instigators” wastes its hour and forty-minute runtime on a dull, uninspired narrative that fails to deliver on its intriguing premise.
That premise, at least, has some potential. Matt Damon plays Rory, a desperate father who teams up with Cobby (Casey Affleck), an ex-con, to rob corrupt Mayor Miccelli (Ron Perlman) on the night of his re-election. But things take a turn when they discover Miccelli has lost, and his safe is empty. The two bumbling thieves must then team up with Rory’s therapist (Hong Chau) for a frantic getaway through the city.
Despite the promising setup, the execution falls flat. Damon and Affleck seem bored and dispassionate. The talented supporting cast, including Ron Perlman, Toby Jones, Ving Rhames, and Hong Chau, are given nothing to do but waste their time in underwritten roles. Other names like Alfred Molina, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Paul Walter Hauser mysteriously vanish halfway through the film, suggesting they may have realized they were in a sinking ship.
Doug Liman’s track record has been hit or miss, and sadly, “The Instigators” is a significant miss. His usual skill at crafting exciting action sequences is nowhere to be found, with what little action there is, feeling perfunctory and lacking any real sense of danger. Rory and Cobby make for dull, unengaging protagonists, and their exploits quickly become tiresome. Even the initial heist planning, which tries to evoke the spirit of “Ocean’s Eleven,” fails to spark much interest. Here’s hoping this is just a blip on the radar for Damon, Affleck, and Liman, and their next projects will be far more thrilling than this snooze-fest.
In Theaters in NY, LA, and Boston on Friday, August 9th,
and streaming on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 9th
3.4k
20k
1.5k
1.3k