Rory (Matt Damon) and Cobby (Casey Affleck) becomes involves in a scheme to rob the mayor on election night. Rory needs the money to pay off some debt while Cobby just wants the money. Unfortunately, although the heist does not go off as planned (and it is the worst planned heist in history), and both men find themselves on the run from the men they were working for and the police, making one bad decision after another.
The Instigators is a new action/comedy from Apple TV+. Much of the comedy comes from the banter between Damon and Affleck. They do have great chemistry, but the jokes are lacking. There’s a lot of time with the two being at odds, with Cobby constantly talking and Rory just wanting him to stop, even for a bit. Cobby is intentionally irritating, which works if you find it funny. Otherwise, it is just irritating. There are some funny moments, but just too few and far between.
What The Instigators lacks in comedy side, it most definitely lacks in action as well. Actually, even worse. There are plenty of opportunities to put together some decent action sequences, but the movie fails to break any new ground, and in most cases, is quite lackluster. Early on there is a car chase scene that should have been a slam dunk. Director Doug Liman and Damon has done an excellent car chase 20 years ago in the first Bourne movie. Here, it appears as though they hired a bunch of stunt drivers and told them to drive and occasionally crash into each other. It’s quite disappointing, and somewhat perplexing. All the action feels like it was just thrown together.
In addition to Damon and Affleck, The Instigators features a number of talented, well-known actors as part of the supporting cast. But none of them are given anything to do. Alfred Molina, Hong Chau, Ving Rhames, Toby Jones, Ron Perlman; it’s a heck of a cast. But none of them get the chance to flex their acting chops. They’re all good, I just don’t know why they were needed. None of the roles are fleshed out (including the leads). Most are roles that many could have been played by anyone, so it’s curious why they went with these actors. It’s really a waste of a talented cast.
Ultimately though, what weights The Instigators down is the lack a solid plot. The robbery/heist could have been a great starting point, but it’s haphazard and doesn’t contain and twists or complexity that you might normally find in a heist movie. And there are other moments that could have been used to build the plot into something worthwhile, but the movie seems content with it all just being events to lead to more banter between the two leads. It is all underwhelming.
The Instigators feel like a product of the streaming wars where it was more important to have quantity than quality. Truly, it comes across more as content than a movie, a vague series of ideas rather than something carefully plotted. Get an A-lister and a bunch of recognizable names/faces, and you’re good to go. You just need money. At least that’s how it seems here. With Apple recently announcing it’s cutting back with Apple TV+, hopefully we will see less of this type of movie going forward.
Your enjoyment of The Instigators is likely to come down to how much you like the interplay between the leads. They chemistry is there, but the dialogue just wasn’t funny enough. And with a lack of an interesting plot or great performances, the movie falls flat. I can see where it could appeal to some, but this is not something I could recommend.
Did you see The Instigators? Are you planning to? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.