Matt Damon and Casey Affleck play dimwitted would-be criminals in Doug Liman’s The Instigators.
A Confederacy of Dunces could be the other name The Instigators the newest Doug Liman Action Comedy could go by. Matt Damon and Casey Affleck play the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the Boston tri-state area. The film pits the dumb against the dumber in a comedy of errors and stupidity that could only take place in Beantown.
The Mayoral Election is down to a runoff in Boston. There’s money to be made and money to be stolen. At least that’s what Besegai (Michael Stuhlbarg) and Richie (Alfred Molina) think though they won’t do it themselves. That’s where subcontracting comes into play like any good criminal enterprise. Enter screw-up Scalvo (Jack Harlow), who is hired by Besegai and Richie who in turn hires royal screw-ups Cobby (Affleck) and Rory (Damon). The “perfect” plan is in place and goes instantly to hell leaving Rory and Cobby without the bags of money they thought they would be getting and the entire police force both corrupt and non-corrupt after them for something more valuable than the money.
The Instigators attempts to go the Midnight Run route of action comedy with its two leads constantly bickering at one another. It only marginally works. Marginally because we don’t care about these two louts the way we care about Jack and the Duke in the Martin Breast classic. The film builds nothing about each’s plight only they grate constantly on the people around them and the audience. It’s easy for a film to make Affleck’s nails to the chalkboard annoying but it takes real skill to take someone as charming as Damon and delouse him of that and create a character that’s just a dick.
The supporting cast is the film’s saving grace with Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Ron Perlman, Ving Rhames, Toby Jones, and Paul Walter Hauser all in excellent form. It’s just too bad their roles require them to constantly comment on the abject stupidity of Affleck and Damon’s characters making it a waste of talent throughout. The MVP of the entire film is Hong Chau as Dr. Rivera the Vet Psychiatrist that Rory sees and forces her into the ever-growing FUBAR situation he and Cobby are in. Chau makes everything believable that the script asks of her and that is no small feat.
The action is decent but the flair that Liman is known for is all but gone. There are flashes of it but not enough to be consistently elevated. One does have to appreciate the two car chases – one mid-film and the other in the third act – for their wanton destruction of public property and a keen sense of wit. The film otherwise feels tepid and inert without the sort of personal touch that Liman brings.
The Instigators is a fine movie it just never rises above to its fullest potential considering the talent involved.
Matt Damon and Casey Affleck play dimwitted would-be criminals in Doug Liman’s The Instigators.
A Confederacy of Dunces could be the other name The Instigators the newest Doug Liman Action Comedy could go by. Matt Damon and Casey Affleck play the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the Boston tri-state area. The film pits the dumb against the dumber in a comedy of errors and stupidity that could only take place in Beantown.
The Mayoral Election is down to a runoff in Boston. There’s money to be made and money to be stolen. At least that’s what Besegai (Michael Stuhlbarg) and Richie (Alfred Molina) think though they won’t do it themselves. That’s where subcontracting comes into play like any good criminal enterprise. Enter screw-up Scalvo (Jack Harlow), who is hired by Besegai and Richie who in turn hires royal screw-ups Cobby (Affleck) and Rory (Damon). The “perfect” plan is in place and goes instantly to hell leaving Rory and Cobby without the bags of money they thought they would be getting and the entire police force both corrupt and non-corrupt after them for something more valuable than the money.
The Instigators attempts to go the Midnight Run route of action comedy with its two leads constantly bickering at one another. It only marginally works. Marginally because we don’t care about these two louts the way we care about Jack and the Duke in the Martin Breast classic. The film builds nothing about each’s plight only they grate constantly on the people around them and the audience. It’s easy for a film to make Affleck’s nails to the chalkboard annoying but it takes real skill to take someone as charming as Damon and delouse him of that and create a character that’s just a dick.
The supporting cast is the film’s saving grace with Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Ron Perlman, Ving Rhames, Toby Jones, and Paul Walter Hauser all in excellent form. It’s just too bad their roles require them to constantly comment on the abject stupidity of Affleck and Damon’s characters making it a waste of talent throughout. The MVP of the entire film is Hong Chau as Dr. Rivera the Vet Psychiatrist that Rory sees and forces her into the ever-growing FUBAR situation he and Cobby are in. Chau makes everything believable that the script asks of her and that is no small feat.
The action is decent but the flair that Liman is known for is all but gone. There are flashes of it but not enough to be consistently elevated. One does have to appreciate the two car chases – one mid-film and the other in the third act – for their wanton destruction of public property and a keen sense of wit. The film otherwise feels tepid and inert without the sort of personal touch that Liman brings.
The Instigators is a fine movie it just never rises above to its fullest potential considering the talent involved.
The Instigators debuts on Apple TV on August 9th
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