After a one-week theatrical window, Doug Liman’s recent reteaming with “Bourne Identity” collaborator Matt Damon , “ The Instigators ,” which was also co-written by and co-stars Casey Affleck , is set to debut on Apple TV+ this Friday, August 9. In addition to Damon and Affleck, the film also features performances from Hong Chau, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Ving Rhames, Jack Harlow, Ron Perlman, Toby Jones, and Paul Walter Hauser, a cast that will no doubt earn at least a few streams despite middling to negative reviews, including IndieWire’s , which calls the film, “Flimsy in most respects but fun enough in its fumbling.” No matter what you think of “The Instigators,” it is obvious the intention behind the film is to tell a heist story more focused on human flaw than it is on claiming any riches.
Simply put, if you’re coming in expecting “Heat” or “Ocean’s 11,” expect to be disappointed. Instead, what “The Instigators” offers is a chance to spend time with phenomenal actors doing what they do best: Crafting characters and clashing them with others. What they’re stealing matters less than why they’re stealing it, not just because they fail time and again at following through on a plan, but because they continue to get back up anyway and keep going despite not even being sure at times of what they’re going after.
In interviews promoting the film, Liman and others are quick to use the ‘70s sports comedy “The Bad News Bears” .