The Instigators

Review: In this 2024 black comedy, that’s an exclusive from Apple TV+, Matt Damon teams up with his second favorite Affleck brother to bring us a movie about two men who try to perform a heist that continues to escalate more and more. Matt Damon & Casey Affleck have very good chemistry (duh) and they do what they do best, play Bostonians in Boston. I’ll say that many of the other actors have chemistry with the duo, including, surprisingly, Jack Harlow. Hong Chau is also great and the scene in which they’re holding her hostage in the car is incredibly well written. The movie as a whole got a good few chuckles from me, and as a big Matt Damon fan, I found myself pleased with his performance. SLIGHT SPOILERS I think that Cobby & Rory thinking they’d get to ride off into the sunset (or Montreal) and then that falling flat on it’s face was pretty funny.

High: The ensemble cast was quite expansive and every actor feels like they should be there and are there for a reason, no one feels added in unnecessarily. Of course you have your leads in Damon & Affleck, and you also have Chau, Harlow, Paul Walter Hauser, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfed Molina, Ving Rhames, Toby Jones, Ron Perlman, André De Shields, & even a cameo from Gronk!

Low: While this is a good, enjoyable film that deserves a watch, it will not go down as a memorable one. Both Damon & Affleck have many entries in their catalogs that will always come to mind first, and this film does little to set itself apart from similar films.

Rating: 7/10