The Instigators Review: Heist Comedy Has Its Moments

The Instigators Review | Leisurebyte

Director: Doug Liman

Date Created: 2024-07-02 00:00

Editor's Rating:
2.5

This Apple TV+ heist comedy film has two unlikely and reluctant partners carrying out a dangerous heist that invariably goes awry. Now in a world of chaos, they must evade all possible obstacles on their path in order to come out in one piece on the other side! Produced by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jeff Robinov, John Graham and Kevin J. Walsh, the film has a runtime of 101 minutes.

The Instigators Review

Ah, heist comedies – two people coming together, getting into shenanigans while exploring their personal ups and downs and breaking things in the process. The Instigators is a fun time to spend as you watch Rory and Cobby, two unlikely allies, taking part in one destruction after another while trying to right the wrongs in their life. Of course, nothing goes according to plan and things just keep getting bad to worse because it’s possibly the worst heist ever!

The movie has some humorous moments, especially when you realise that these two men have some of the worst luck out there. As a simple robbery turns into horrible insanity from the minute the heist starts, things escalate at a rapid pace and the robbery quickly turns into, well, a gunfight and car chase (of course). Damon and Affleck are fun protagonists to have around as they constantly bicker with one another and then with Hong Chau’s Dr. Donna Rivera. The bickering is funny as is watching these men unable to catch one single break throughout the runtime. The circumstances are silly and sometimes annoying but things are kept light and there’s no hint of seriousness anywhere.

That being said, The Instigators feels a little hollow – the movie is able to subvert some expectations but there are a lot of cliches. There aren’t any moments that you would root for any of these characters because their characters feel so deafeningly empty. Rory and Cobby’s interactions with each other lack genuineness and Chau’s Dr. Rivera’s bickering and psychologist buzzwords get very old very fast. I failed to understand some of her character decisions as well, which resulted in me feeling like she’s doing these things because the plot requires her to do so. Actually, a lot of things in the movie felt like that which is such a disappointment.

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Because, sure, this was never going to be some serious discussion on greed or desperation but it misses out on the fun that heist movies usually provide so well, leaving us feeling a bit confused at the end. The ending, on that note, is so odd – after so much action and whatnot, it’s relatively quiet and comes out of the blue. And, sure, I am thankful that there were no high-speed chase sequences and all that but it comes out of the blue and ends abruptly. I would like to say that it makes sense considering how people are and how things work in the world but keeping everything that happens in the series in mind – I wish there was something more there than what we got especially because there were a few questions left unanswered.

Either way, I found Michael Stuhlbarg and Alfred Molina quite funny in the film, although they hardly have much screen time. Stuhlbarg, especially, is funny as Mr. Besegai, a man who can’t get anything to work for him during this heist. Other than them, the rest of the cast is fun as well. Damon and Affleck are fine in their roles. I found myself missing a little bit more backstory to their characters but they played their roles well. Chau’s character feels odd and out of place in my opinion, but she is great regardless.

Final Thoughts

When all is said and done, this film feels abrupt. You feel like you are missing a big piece of the puzzle and a few answers when the credits finally roll, leaving you a bit dissatisfied in spite of the fun you’ve had in bursts throughout the runtime.

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