The Instigators
2024
**½
Director: Doug Liman
Cast: Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Hong Chau, Paul Walter Hauser, Ving Rhames, Alfred Molina, Michael Stuhlbarg, Ron Perlman, Jack Harlow, Toby Jones
Two troubled and cash-strapped Bostonians join a heist to steal the cash bribes from the city's corrupt mayor during his post-election party. When the plan falls apart, the men are forced to go on the run. This likeable but forgettable heist comedy was scripted by Chuck Maclean and Casey Affleck, and Doug Liman is unable to breathe life into the unoriginal premise. The lead characters are uninteresting, some of the supporting players are horrible caricatures (Michael Stuhlbarg and Ron Perlman, in particular), and the events on screen lack credibility and stakes. In his action scenes, Liman smashes police cars like it's 1980 all over again. Affleck and Damon, who starred in Ocean's Eleven 23 years ago, could play these roles in their sleep.
