Casey Affleck is a fine comic actor, and maybe the funniest thing he has ever done was this Dunkin Donuts Commercial when he hosted Saturday Night Live. In less than two minutes, Affleck packs a lot of specificity and nuance into his portrait of Donny, a Masshole who is permanently aggrieved and prone to sudden violence. Somehow The Instigators, the new action-comedy starring Affleck, where he once again plays a Masshole, has less character development than the SNL parody ad. Affleck co-wrote the screenplay with Chuck Maclean, and together they have made a tedious, shaggy-dog heist film. Not even director Doug Liman, an old pro who has punched up mediocre scripts for decades, can infuse this lumpy movie with the energy it badly requires.
On paper, the pitch sounds like a no-brainer. Affleck plays Cobby, a down-on-his-luck ex-con, who is hired to rip off bribes from the mayor of Boston (Ron Perlman) on election night. His primary accomplice is Rory (Matt Damon), a strait-laced ex-Marine who has no experience or instincts for crime. Their heist is a disaster: there is no money at the Mayor’s celebration party, and Cobby gets shot during their escape. Wanted by the mob and the police, Rory recruits his therapist (Hong Chau) to treat the gunshot wound (most therapists are not psychiatrists and don’t have training as an MD, but I digress). The unlikely trio careens through Boston in a series of car chases and standoffs, only to somehow return back to the Mayor’s office to steal what they couldn’t the first time.
The script for The Instigators attempts to be comic because Affleck and Maclean infuse banter and asides throughout the action. This film wants to be a riff on Midnight Run, and while Affleck and Damon share a palpable chemistry, the script barely explores the dynamic of these character types. Instead, there are many, many references that will only appeal to current and former Boston residents (you will never, not once, forget that Cobby and Rory are both from Quincy, Mass). The script also flat-out steals jokes from other sources, like its use of the “are you taking notes during a criminal conspiracy” gag from The Wire. It is unclear whether Affleck and Maclean are paying homage to the HBO series or hoping no one notices, and it speaks to the film’s shortcomings that anyone who catches the reference cannot be sure.
It is no surprise, then, that the best scenes in the film are when no one is talking. Liman has directed everything from The Bourne Identity through Edge of Tomorrow, and he has a sense of action and kinetic energy that many of his contemporaries lack. Although there is undoubtedly some CGI and movie magic, The Instigators gives the sense that Liman shot on location and used real cars/explosions wherever he could. A welcome alternative to the CGI slop that dominates action nowadays, there is a heft to chase scenes in this film. But rather than add to the film’s overall entertainment value, the unintended consequence is the wish that Liman – who also directed the recent Road House remake – could find material worthy of his talents.
Like many actors who transition into roles behind the camera, Affleck is able to attract an impressive slate of character actors to his weak material. Michael Stuhlbarg plays against type as a hot-tempered gangster, while Alfred Molina plays his relatively timid accomplice. Ving Rhames sleepwalks through a role as a cop on Cobby and Rory’s tail, bringing none of the credibility or gravitas that made him such a welcome presence in the Mission: Impossible franchise. The only supporting player who really elevates the material is Hong Chau, probably because she never once acts like she knows she’s in a comedy. She plays the character completely straight, correctly calculating that ordinary reactions to an extraordinary situation can be intrinsically funny. No one else trusts the audience or material that much.
Based on pedigree alone, perhaps your first instinct would be to wish that The Instigators had a proper theatrical release. Shouldn’t we celebrate original entertainment with real actors in real locations? Yes, in theory, but inherent to the promise of original entertainment is that they are superior – or more creative – than the endless parade of sequels, remakes, legacy sequels, whatever. In its failed attempt to generate a laugh or any feeling of genuine excitement, this film is an important reminder that pedigrees, while promising, are no guarantee of success.
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