The Instigators review: Matt Damon and Casey Affleck’s mediocre heist caper

Director Doug Liman has some experience making a movie about a criminal scheme gone wrong.

In the 1999 cult favourite Go, a supermarket worker named Ronna, decides to make some extra cash from two closeted soapie stars looking to buy 20 hits of ecstasy.

Her plan doesn’t quite work out and the night devolves into a mess involving a crazed dealer, Katie Holmes as human collateral, a hustling cop not above blackmail and a bonkers car accident.

Go had a large ensemble cast, intersecting subplots and multiple points-of-view, all of which adds up to a movie that could be hard to follow.

Liman, then a young director hot off the success of Swingers (a break-out for Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau), pulled it together. It was snappy, compulsive and moved along with this irrepressible chaotic energy.

But if Go banged, The Instigators whimpered.

Reuniting Liman with his The Bourne Identity star Matt Damon, who in turn teams up again with former castmates Hong Chau (Downsizing) and Casey Affleck (Oceans trilogy, Good Will Hunting, Oppenheimer), The Instigators is a lacklustre heist-goes-wrong extravaganza that lacks pizzazz.

Written by Affleck and Chuck Maclean, the movie is centred on Rory (Damon), a former veteran, and Cobby, a small-time crook just out of prison. The two are recruited by nefarious criminal Mr Besegai (Michael Stuhlbarg) and his associate Richie (Alfred Molina).

Along with a third goon (Jack Harlow), the gang has been tasked with robbing the corrupt Mayor Miccelli’s (Ron Perlman) cash bribes on the night of the election. The execution goes tits-up, sending Rory and Cobby on the run from their bosses who want to kill them, and the cops, both crooked and straight.

Along the way, they pick up Rory’s therapist Donna (Chau), who is very, very concerned about his mental health journey during this heightened experience. Also, Ving Rhames, Paul Walter Hauser and Toby Jones are just… there.

The Instigators had the potential to be a fun heist movie except no one seems to be having any actual fun, certainly not the usually dependable Damon who is barely even phoning it in. Like most of his cast members, he is texting it in at best.

As the comatose Rory, Damon saves his considerable acting chops for his final scene in a subtle but emotionally significant, wordless moment. It’s the only time in which you go, “Oh, yes, there he is”. But then the movie ends.

The only performer who seems like they actually care there’s a movie going on is Affleck, but he is more invested than the others, and the awkward elephant in the room.

The Instigators is Affleck’s first significant role since his Manchester by the Sea Oscar campaign in late-2016 put a spotlight on two sexual harassment lawsuits from 2010. Both cases were settled out of court.

His accusers — a producer and a cinematographer who worked on Affleck’s production I’m Still Here — alleged repeated instances of sexual harassment and a toxic workplace. One alleged Affleck without her consent crawled into her bed while she was still asleep.

There’s been a stink around Affleck since, and his small role in last year’s Oppenheimer was noted for perhaps being the first flank of a comeback campaign.

The Instigators, with its high-profile director, even starrier cast and Affleck’s additional credit as a co-writer, must be the second.

There are plenty of viewers who will have no issue with Affleck’s return just as there are as many who will get the ick. The conversation over accountability, redemption and pop culture jail is an ongoing but inescapable one.

No matter your ethical leaning, at least on this particular comeback, The Instigators is just boring.

Rating: 2.5/5

The Instigators is on Apple TV+ from August 9