The Instigators

Starring: Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Hong Chau, Jack Harlow, Michael Stuhlberg, Alfred Molina, Andre De Shields, Ron Perlman, Toby Jones, Rob Gronkowski, Paul Walter Hauser, Ving Rhames (uncredited)
Directed by: Doug Liman
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama
2024

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two men (Matt Damon, Casey Affleck) take part in a botched robbery and must evade multiple parties who want them arrested or dead.

Review:

Tim: Doug Limon is directing a movie with Matt Damon and Casey Affleck that Affleck also co-wrote? Oh, I'm so there for The Instigators. The trailers didn't look all that good, but that couldn't mean anything. Unfortunately, it did. This film is decent, but it's a clear misfire- the talent involved is so much better than the final product. This is an Apple+ film that ultimately goes nowhere.

There's a lot that goes wrong with this film. I mean that for the characters, but even more so, for the film itself. The story isn't great- it feels at once too familiar and too over-the-top. This film tries to entertain, but it takes massive logical leaps that significantly hurt the film. I just never believed so much of what happens here. From evading the police, to breaking into government buildings- this movie asks far too much of the audience. It's so unrealistic from beginning to end. It never sells us on any of this. Our characters get out of scrape after scrape in ludicrous fashion. It's all enough to cause you to injure yourself from severe eye rolling. Every film like this requires suspension of disbelief, but this story asks the impossible. It's badly written, illogical, and absurd.

It doesn't help that the characters aren't great. They might seem fine on paper, but they never really connect with the audience. Even with impressive performances by the cast, they can't overcome the limitations of the character outlines on the page. For example, one of the highlights of the film involves the banter between Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. Their characters are humorous and some of their dialogue is just great. It's a lot of fun watching them interact and their exchanges bring so much energy to the film. But, did we actually care about these characters? Did we get to know them? Or, was character development checking off a series of boxes to establish their motivations? It's the latter. It all feels perfunctory. The performances are good and energetic, but the characters weren't well written or appropriately explored on screen. We get a bunch of wisecracks and humorous banter, but there's nothing beneath the surface. This is especially true with Hong Chau's character. I really like Chau and I thought she gave a great performance. Unfortunately, none of her character's motivations or actions make any kind of sense. You get the feeling that she's there because the writers wanted her there, verses anything that naturally evolves from the story. Her character is forced into the action and it doesn't work. By the way, the same can be said for Rob Gronkowski- his presence helps put the film in New England, but he didn't need to be in this film.

Outside of these three, the supporting cast is excellent but so severely limited by the script. We get Michael Stuhlberg, Alfred Molina, Ron Perlman, Toby Jones, Paul Walter Hauser, and Ving Rhames! That is a stunning supporting cast. I loved seeing so many talented actors assembled here. However, the film barely uses them. Stuhlberg gets some solid scenes, but Molina is severely underutilized. Jones gets a couple of decent moments. Hauser adds value in his small role, but Rhames felt like he should have had better material to work with. I never believed his character's motivations for a second. It's a bit shame to see so much talent and it not be leveraged fully.

I know I've mostly been complaining, but The Instigators isn't a bad film. The cast is superb. There's some witty and humorous banter. The action moves forward and keeps us on our toes. It's definitely a decent film and I had some level of enjoyment watching it. However, these positives can't quite outweigh the feeling that the total is less than the sum of its parts. This is a forgettable, throwaway film that will soon be forgotten. I expected more, we deserved better from this film. It's not bad, but it's definitely disappointing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



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