Matt Damon's Forgotten 2024 Heist Comedy Is Having A Streaming Resurgence

Doug Liman's "The Instigators" is one of many big-budget, high-profile feature films starring A-list Hollywood actors and made by notable directors that were slipped into the folds of a streaming service and hastily forgotten about. The Streaming Wars took many victims, and dozens, if not hundreds, of movies were rammed into digital back catalogs by streamer executives who had no intention of letting them find an audience. In the case of "The Instigators," this was a pity, because it was a rather strong, sad-sack, character-based crime dramedy starring some very good actors. The film was co-written by Casey Affleck, who starred alongside Matt Damon as a pair of mob-hired low-level thugs who are tasked with committing a robbery that, naturally, goes very poorly for both of them.

Damon plays Rory, a divorced Marine who insists that this robbery job pay him exactly $32,480. He eventually reveals why he needs that exact amount, but keeps it secret for the bulk of the movie. Affleck plays Cobby, an ex-con who is discouraged from re-entering a life of crime. Their job is to rob a corrupt politician, Boston's incumbent mayor (Ron Perlman), of a giant stash of corrupt bribe money. Jack Harlow plays Rory, Cobby's wildcard partner, and Hong Chau plays Rory's psychiatrist, Dr. Rivera. Ving Rhames plays a cop on their tail, and Alfred Molina plays the mobster in charge. Through a long series of plot machinations, Rivera will end up becoming Rory's hostage later in the movie. 

It's likely because Matt Damon is currently starring in "The Odyssey" that audiences are looking up his recent catalog, leading them to find "The Instigators" on Apple TV. Whatever the reason, though, it's a relief to report that a good streaming movie is finally finding an audience. 

Doug Liman is best known for his 1990s indie hits "Swingers" and "Go," and also for his actioners like "The Bourne Identity" and "Edge of Tomorrow." The same year he made "The Instigators," he also remade "Road House," which is better-made than you'd expect.

The prevailing mood of "The Instigators" is one of comedic pathos. Rory and Cobby are career criminals, but their lives aren't going so well. They both need money, though, and they are merely leaning into their skill set. Right away, the heist goes badly. For one, the incumbent mayor was defeated on election night, which rearranged all the guards at the heist site. The Jack Harlow character decides to just sort of rob people instead of committing the heist, leading to a shootout, a few deaths, an injury, and Rory and Cobby stealing an armored truck. They think they can turn to their gangster boss for help, but they are targeted instead. Darn. This is the plot wrinkle that forces Rory to go to his shrink, the only person he trusts, and take her (willingly) as a hostage. 

"The Instigators" climaxes with a re-heist of the same cash, as Rory and Cobby find that stealing the money may be their only way out of their current situation. The final heist, without giving too much away, also doesn't go very smoothly. It also leads to a wild, cathartic moment wherein all the criminals are confronted about their lives of misdeeds. Toby Jones appears as a corrupt lawyer, and Michael Stuhlbarg shows up as another mobster character. 

The plot might be similar to what many might have seen in countless caper movies before, but Casey Affleck's screenplay, written with Chuck Maclean, adds a lot of great texture to the characters. 

"The Instigators" was given a very, very, very limited release in theaters, and only in England. As such, the film's box office is a mere $11,106. Its budget is not easily accessible, but given the stars attached, one can assume it tips into the tens of millions. 

Critics were also largely unmoved by "The Instigators," earning the film a mere 41% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 157 reviews. The negative reviews all seem to agree that the film is largely unsubstantial, feeling a little too loose and lightweight to leave any kind of impact. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune wrote that it was "lazy" and "low-stakes." Some of the film's positive reviews, however, praised it for the same reasons, feeling that "The Instigators" was enjoyable because it was so breezy. Alissa Wilkinson, writing for the New York Times, praised the film's local authenticity (Bostonian Casey Affleck wrote in a lot of good Boston local details), and noted that "[Even if the plot] kind of goes nowhere, its characters give it the feel of a hangout movie with some added shootouts and car chases and a few well-timed explosions. And that, at least, is wicked good." 

"The Instigators" is the first of two streaming-released crime flicks that Matt Damon made with one of the Affleck brothers in recent years, the other being Joe Carnahan's 2026 Netflix film "The Rip." That film, however, was notorious for its second-screen screenplay. "The Instigators" is way more intelligent than that.