THE INSTIGATORS
Starring: Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Hong Chau, Ving Rhames, Ron Perlman, Toby Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Paul Walter Hauser, and Jack Harlow
Director: Doug Liman
AMARÚ
One of my favorite movie genres is stacked ensembles coming together to have tons of fun, and The Instigators is Ocean’s Eleven-level entertainment, with alums Matt Damon and Casey Affleck leading this comedy of criminal errors. Director Doug Liman reaffirms his ability to create great action movies with just the right amount of heart as he throws us straight into the fray with a breakneck pace, an intelligently quippy script, and irreverent yet genuine performances, especially from Damon. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face during this hilarious, rip-roaring heist-gone-wrong-in-all-the-right-ways.
NICK
Some of the best team-ups in film come from characters who find themselves working together due to happenstance, and The Instigators is yet another example. Led by Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, the pair's dynamic is what makes this film work as well as it does. With both being alumni of the Ocean's franchise, they channel that energy for an entertaining heist film filled with quippy dialogue and a collection of colourful side characters. After some questionable decisions in his recent work, it's nice to see director Doug Liman tackle a film like this. It’s a solid match.
QUENTIN
It seems most comedies nowadays have become straight-to-streaming fare that are reminiscent of the entertaining-but-forgotten comedies of my 90s youth, like Money Train, Nothing to Lose, and Bulletproof. The type of come-and-go movie I loved at 15-years-old, but probably has no real legacy outside of those who experienced it as an indiscriminate teenager. The Instigators is further evidence of that notion. Despite delivering some light laughs, solid odd-couple banter, inoffensive action, and a collection of random stars in bit parts, it probably won’t register very long for anyone outside of modern-day adolescents who will eventually have rose-colored, “The Instigators? I loved that movie!” nostalgia for it.
PAIGE
Although The Instigators is an entertaining on-the-run movie, Doug Liman's blue-collar heist film is just another typical action comedy. Don't get me wrong, the material is elevated by the sardonic wit and dialogue, as well as the charming Boston accents from Casey Affleck and Matt Damon, but, overall, the genre isn't expanded upon. Plus, the plot is a little wonky at times. Though there is some fun to be had with this flick, and it was nice to see the accurate depiction of Massachusetts driving, just don’t expect the next great Boston crime film.
