LONDON: There are few more exciting movie lineups than Damon, Liman and Affleck. The first two, of course, are star and director of 2022’s “The Bourne Identity” and kickstarted one of the smartest spy franchises to date, and though the Affleck in question here is Casey, not Damon’s regular collaborator, Ben (who takes a producer role), “The Instigators” is still stuffed with enough star power to make for a tantalizing proposition. And that’s before you even get to a supporting cast that includes Ving Rhames, Hong Chau, Ron Perlman, Paul Walter Houser, Toby Jones and Alfred Molina.
Damon and Affleck star as Rory and Cobby, a pair of down-on-their luck Bostonians who agree to rob the corrupt city mayor (Perlman) for a local crime boss. When the job goes wrong, they wind up on the run, stopping only to snatch Rory’s therapist (Chau) who believes she can talk them into turning themselves in. As they lurch from one calamitous misstep to the next, the pair bicker (in the way that only on-screen Bostonians can) and snipe their way across the city as they flee cops, hitmen and special operatives.
Part buddy-comedy, part-heist thriller, part-action movie, “The Instigators” ends up being none of these things in their entirety. What’s remarkable, in fact, is that it’s so middle-of-the-road that it’s actually very satisfying — funny but not hilarious, sweary but not gratuitous, exciting but never blockbusting. Liman races through the setup so he can have fun with the fallout, and in his two leads he has a duo with peppy chemistry and believable snark. Chau’s deadpan, incredulous shrink is a lot of fun, while Perlman chews the scenery as the slimy mayor, and Molina steals every single one of his few scenes as a brooding enforcer. Set pieces are used sparingly, but efficiently (this is definitely not an all-out action movie).
Ultimately, it’s the Damon/Affleck dynamic that makes “The Instigators” really hum, with both leads very much on their game. “The Instigators” isn’t spectacular, but as a couple of hours of escapism, it’s as satisfyingly competent as you could hope for.
