The Instigators

Most of us have reached a point in our lives where we think we might do anything to get our heads above water when we seem to be drowning in life. That “anything,” of course, might be cutting back on spending so we can save money, or maybe it is just asking for help—usually reasonable things. What if, though, you were presented with a way to solve your problem for three minutes of work, in which you would be in and out? Would that pique your interest?

I would think most people would not be given that option, but in Rory’s (Matt Damon) case, today is his lucky—or maybe unlucky—day. Mr. Besegai (Michael Stuhlbarg) has the perfect heist planned; he just needs some guys who can pull it off. After some persuasion of Scalvo (Jack Harlow), he says he has two guys who can pull the job off: one is Rory, and the other is Cobby (Casey Affleck). Although not the ideal team in Mr. Besegai’s eyes, but if they will do the job right, it can make them all rich. The job is this: the mayor (Ron Perlman) is having a big party for his re-election, in which his donors bring cash, which is easier to hide, and Cobby, Rory, and Scalvo are going to relieve the mayor of that cash. Things, though, do not go well, and next thing you know, Rory is trying to escape with a wounded Cobby as they get away, with not nearly the promised haul in cash. That escape leads them to a few places, including the home of Rory’s therapist, Dr. Donna Rivera (Hong Chau), who agrees to mend Cobby and to be their hostage. She instead gives them up, resulting in a big police chase, and Rory and Cobby come up with another plan to rob the mayor. Who knows, maybe this one will work out.

Written by Chuck Maclean and Casey Affleck, The Instigators might appear to be a heist film, but this story isn’t about stealing some money; instead, it’s about everything that can go wrong. While films like Ocean’s Eleven and Heist show us the well-oiled machine when a plan comes together, The Instigators embraces chaos and puts snappy banter in the front seat between Rory and Cobby as they seem to botch everything. All that can go wrong seems to, but through it all, Cobby always seems to have jokes, and it is Affleck and Damon who keep The Instigators from being a botched attempt of a movie.

As Roy McAvoy once said, “Perfection is unobtainable,” and The Instigators is far from a perfect film. We have seen plenty of other films like this, and The Instigators does little to set itself apart from those. What it is, though, is an entertaining film that, thanks to its cast, plays better than maybe it should have. Not only are Affleck and Damon great, but everyone else who shows up seems perfectly cast. That includes Paul Walter Hauser as a bad assassin, Toby Jones as the mayor’s attorney, and Ving Rhames as someone you don’t want coming after you. With all the star power, it is Chau who adds a pleasantness to the movie that stands out the most. We are at the point now that if a film uses Boston as its backdrop, if an Affleck or a Damon is not in it, things don’t feel right. Well, we get both in this one, and with the help from Doug Liman, we get a showcase of some comedic talents that is just fun enough to enjoy.