Matt Damon’s ‘The Instigators’ Is Another Streaming-Movie Dud
Despite often featuring A-list talent both in front of and behind the camera, a surprising number of streaming movies look, sound, and feel second-rate—a group that now includes The Instigators.
Directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow, the recent Road House remake), and starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck alongside a who’s-who of illustrious supporting players, this Apple TV+ film—which will receive a one-week theatrical release on August 2 before debuting on the online platform on August 9—is a wan approximation of The Friends of Eddie Coyle by way of Out of Sight, devoid of the very comedic energy it covets and, it turns out, desperately requires. The sole thing it instigates is frustration over its lethargic unoriginality.
The Instigators is generic in just about every respect, from its title (which is unrelated to its plot), to its criminal shenanigans, to the green “33” jersey (minus the name “Bird”) hanging in a downtown Boston office.