'The Instigators' steals nothing but time
Apple TV+
While “Ocean’s Two” sounds very underwhelming, that imaginary Clooney-Pitt prequel would be approximately 25 million times more fun than “The Instigators,” in which “Ocean’s” alums Matt Damon and Casey Affleck reteam for a heist that takes the heft out of theft. Hardly anything here lands, only accomplishing a reminder that the crispness of movies like “Drive” and “The Town” and “Killing Them Softly” doesn’t happen automatically.
The movie opens with Rory (Damon) suggesting to his therapist Dr. Rivera (Hong Chau, who was fantastic with Damon in “Downsizing”) that he’s suicidal; a few minutes later he’s joined Cobby (Affleck) as part of a crew planning to rob the mayor of Boston (Ron Perlman of “Drive,” saddled with a one-note character) after he wins re-election. Needless to say the job gets botched and Rory and Cobby find themselves in an odd mix of kinda successful buddy comedy (Cobby’s extra-sassy) and shockingly drab crime thriller, which pushes away any emotional investment even when Rivera absurdly becomes involved in a continually ridiculous plan (and Cobby hits on her, with obnoxious results).
It seems longtime pals Damon and Affleck are too comfortable with each other, failing to clarify Rory and Cobby’s dynamic or capture this as a pairing worth investing in. (The halfhearted effort at building stakes is also cliche, vapid, and in desperate need of grounding.) And as great as it seems to see Michael Stuhlbarg (“A Serious Man”) as a ruthless criminal, so much of “The Instigators” is undercooked and just sort of there, putting effort into banter and little else. Director Doug Liman (“The Bourne Identity,” “Go”) appears to be out of his trademark energy; the action sequences are fine at best, and the plotting has no chance at propulsion with characters so forgettable.
Thankfully “The Instigators” is pretty funny, with Cobby’s one-liners coming fast enough and good enough to mildly compensate for how mediocre everything else is. If co-writers Affleck and Chuck MacLean (“City on a Hill”) think they’re uncovering political greed or institutional loopholes, next time they should consider not starting with the absolute basics, bringing judgment without understanding.
Not dissimilar to Chau’s turn in “The Whale,” by the end you are only rooting for Rivera to get as far away from everyone else as possible.
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