The Instigators (2024) Film Review

Rory and Cobby are unlikely partners thrown together for a heist. However, when it goes awry, they team up to outrun police, backward bureaucrats, and a vengeful crime boss.

The Instigators is directed by Doug Liman who directed Edge Of Tomorrow (2014), American Made (2017), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), The Bourne Identity (2002), The Wall (2017), Chaos Walking (2021), Road House (2024) and a few others.

Going to try and keep this short because I quite honestly have no idea what to exactly say here. While The Instigators isn’t as bad as some people make it out to be, the movie itself is devoid of any originality and really struggles to make itself stand out from the other films in the heist movie genre.

Matt Damon and Casey Affleck are fine enough here, they manage to crack a few jokes that are chuckle worthy and at times they do work well together. The rest of the cast such as Hong Chau, Paul Walter Hauser, Alfred Molina, Ron Perlman and a few others are fine. Some are given much more to do than others, but they do their part fine. If anything this really comes off as showcase of someone saying “how many recognizable names can we fit into a very forgettable movie?”

The plot is about what you expect, what you see is what you get and there really isn’t anything shocking, interesting or investing going on here. Every once and awhile there’s a few moments of entertainment but those are almost immediately followed by dull scene after dull scene. The movie itself lacks identity and charm, actors who are usually exciting to see such as Matt Damon really don’t have a whole lot to their character.

The Instigators is a prime example of a streaming movie that you are going to forget almost immediately when it’s over. The movie isn’t necessarily horrendous as the writing has it’s moments, the acting is okay at best and there’s fun to be had. But that all doesn’t add up into something worth watching.

The Instigators is available on Apple TV+

4/10 D+

Every Breath You Take (2021) Movie Review!

A psychiatrist, whose client commits suicide, finds his family life disrupted after introducing her surviving brother to his wife and daughter.

Every Breath You Take I feel would have been okay….if it came out in the 90s or early 2000s. It feels like a bad cable movie you would catch on TV on a Saturday evening. There really isn’t much to say here to be quite honest, the acting is very okay at best with Casey Affleck trying to give a good performance but this is easily one of his weakest. The movie never really goes anywhere at all, it starts off way too slow and ultimately stops dead in it’s tracks towards the end. Although I will say the ending was actually not too bad, the main problem with this movie is it’s a thriller that has nothing noteworthy about it. The only reason why this movie got some sort of attention is because of the cast, without the cast this movie would have gotten no attention at all. The cast is the only reason why I even bothered with this movie and it’s definitely the best thing about the movie. Plus the filming is at least pretty decent with some interesting shots, but everything else such as the writing, directing and so on are a complete mess and don’t add up to anything great.

4/10 D+

Our Friend (2021)

After receiving life-altering news, a couple finds unexpected support from their best friend, who puts his own life on hold and moves into their family home, bringing an impact much greater and more profound than anyone could have imagined

Our Friend is directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite the director of Blackfish and Megan Leavey (a very underrated movie) which was definitely I was looking forward to this one! It’s a very solid movie that does capture life itself at times, a lot of it really reminded me of Manchester By The Sea (although not as good), Dakota Johnson is definitely the stand out she really gives a raw and strong performance that really shows her talent. This movie is by far one of if not Jason Segel’s best performance in awhile, like Dakota Johnson he gives a very raw performance where it doesn’t feel faked. The same can be said for the rest of the cast as well, Casey Affleck also does a pretty good job. His role In Our Friend did heavily remind me of his role in Manchester By The Sea so it does sort of feel identical. But he still manages to do a very solid job in his role, the writing is a highlight it really brings this authentic and believable feel to the film which in the end really makes this movie standout. Directing wise Cowperthwaite does a fantastic job, she really shows that she wants to make things authentic as possible which is important due to Our Friend being based on a true story! Overall Our Friend is a fantastic film, definitely one of the best of 2021 so far. Check this one out!

8/10 B+