Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Rory and Cobby are unlikely partners thrown together for a heist. But when it goes awry, they team up with an unusual accomplice — Rory's therapist — to outrun police, backward bureaucrats, and a vengeful crime boss.
The Instigators is a serviceable but formulaic Boston crime-comedy. The heist-gone-wrong premise is well-worn territory, and the addition of a therapist as a third-wheel accomplice provides mild novelty but doesn't elevate the material significantly. Matt Damon and Casey Affleck bring charisma and chemistry that lifts the acting above the script's limitations, but the plotting is predictable and the comedy of errors structure feels mechanical. Cinematography is functional Boston location work without much visual distinction. The ending wraps up tidily without much surprise. A competent but forgettable mid-tier genre entry.