Last night I watch The Instigators (2024), its a new heist comedy with Matt Damon and Casey Affleck that I made a preview post a few days ago, and it is rather okay, I'm not too harsh with my rating but there have been people online that gave it a 5/10. The movie based in Boston and directed by Doug Liman who honestly fails to recreate the charm of the old school heist movies. Damon and Affleck star as Rory and Cobby two criminals who plan a heist and then find themselves on a crime rampage that they cannot escape. The cast is absolutely well chosen so I don't feel the problem was lack of talent, featuring Hong Chau, Michael Stuhlbarg and Ron Perlman, and I was hoping for the best, there are some entertaining scenes and the relations between Damon and Affleck are well developed but the film has something that felt flat. It is not bad, but it is not good either, what I would call an ok one time watch as if you were just randomly watching cable, it is rather mediocre, you can tell the potential is there but it never gets exploited. The story has its suspense and complications and there are attempts at comedy but much of it is rather poor, I could not help but think that with such a cast and crew both in front of and behind the camera this could have been so much better, it is the type of film that you can sit down and watch on a afternoon and not really think too much of it afterwards.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt24169886/
- Platform: AppleTV+
The Good: What Worked in the Film
Damon and Affleck's Chemistry
There is one thing you everyone online kept talking about and that is the chemistry between Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, these two have worked together before and it shows they make a good team. Some of the conversation between the two leads is quite realistic and the most attractive aspect of the film. Damon plays the role of the character Rory who is more responsible and more serious than Cobby played by Affleck who is the funny and less responsible partner. They have different styles but complement each other and I can see that they are in sync. It is the chemistry between the two leads that can be enjoyable at times that makes the movie watchable, this adds much to the credibility of their characters as well, although the plot may become somewhat unconvincing at times, the audience can always rely on the performances of Damon and Affleck. It’s not revolutionary or disruptive by any means, but it has to be mention because at least that aspect of the movie was good, but the rest I can't tell much.Boston Setting
There is another thing I liked about the movie and that is the fact that the movie was set in Boston, I always look into having to watch different places on a movie and have the movie mention and talk about where the hell everything is going on, I believe they did a good job on describing the city. You are able to see the streets, the neighborhoods and the atmosphere of Boston, it is not merely a prop but it seems as if it is a part of the story telling. The director have also tried to make the setting as realistic as possible, the dialogue, the language and the places used in the movie. It was a good touch to the movie that I enjoyed and it made the movie more realistic to me, if you are from Boston you could probably feel more bond into the movie and find it a nice touch, but doesn't meant you have to be a resident of the city to appreciate the fact that the setting adds a certain uniqueness to the movie that makes it different from other heist films that could be set in any city without you knowing where the hell it is.
The Bad: Where the Film Fell Short
Simplistic Plot
There was one major disappointment for me and that was the plot, it kicks off quite well with Rory and Cobby participating in a robbery which goes wrong but then the story seems to lose direction and same goes for the events that are connected in a rather random manner. There are some efforts to introduce some twist but they are not very effective and do not make much of an impression, I was often bored because the consequences never seemed very drastic and the challenges the characters had to overcome were rather weak and either easy or too soft on them, it is as if the writers had a decent premise but didn’t know how to build on it and make it better, playing a game in easy mode or with a god like cheat code.Lack of Humor
Another I found with the movie; and I feel this is a very critical one, was its attempts at being funny, you can have a bad script or plot but if you have a guy shooting jokes or events happening that make the audience laugh at certain point it can level the balance for the audience impression. I have to say that I didn’t laugh very often watching a film that is supposed to be a comedy, there are certain funny and comic moments, but many of them are rather weak. It’s not that the actors are not doing their best, Damon and Affleck in particular are giving their all but the script is lacking. The comedy is rather unnatural and most of the jokes are completely predictable and that makes the joke weak, its like you telling the same jokes every few days no matter how good it was the first time it loose its power rather quick. There are no scenes that will make you laugh out loud as it is more of a smile here and there occasionally, this is a shame because heist comedies can be so much fun when done well, with a good blend of action and comedy.
Doug Liman's Influence on the Movie
The direction of Doug Liman is well seen in the visual aspects of film, he is best known for directing the films like "The Bourne Identity" and "Edge of Tomorrow" which are full of action close to no comedy and he has brought the same taste to this heist comedy. In this case his direction is good in the sense that he makes the movie to flow well with good transition from one scene to the other and good action sequences without making it look like its trying too hard or over the top. Liman’s work with big budget films is evident in the films help for sure since he brought all that experience from the aesthetics, from the shots of Boston to the choreography of the heist scenes. Even though the visual style is there, the film is not as effective as some of his other movies. Liman’s effort to combine comedy with action is not always successful and this makes the film to have an inconsistent story, if it was just action probably would turn out to be a better movie.The Ending and Its Meaning
The end of the movie the events turn in a rather unexpected way and the story felt a bit rush when Rory and Cobby are sent to prison but they are out shortly because of the new Mayor, Mark Choi. Choi realizes he has two options, follow the money trail of the corrupt former Mayor Miccelli and his $100 million on some hard drives or do the honorable thing and give the money back to the authorities. He opts for the first one which results to the freeing of Rory and Cobby, this ending gives the impression that corruption still stay strong during the story even with new leadership but at the same it relieves the main characters. It is rather a gloomy view of politics and justice, suggesting that everyone can be bought. In the case of Rory and Cobby the ending offers a kind of resolution and potentially keeps the story open for continuation. Rory attends his son’s ice hockey game as he is attempting to come back into his son’s life and be a part of his child’s life, while Cobby has a better opportunity of having a love interest with Dr. Rivera. This type of ending potentially gives the movie a shot at attempt to offer both social commentary on the corrupt system and character development for the protagonists and their attempts to find a way to improve themselves within the system they trying to escape.
If you are a fan of Matt Damon or Casey Affleck you might enjoy it based on the fact that you will be a bit bias, it is my case and probably why I did not find it terrible as other may say. In a cruel way the movie perfectly describe how corrupt and cynical is the world we living when it comes to politics and see the main characters walk to the sunset does not make me felt any different about it. In general the film is decent at times but considering the cast it is rather disappointing, it’s a decent way to kill a couple of hours but it’s not something I would go and watch more than once.
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