The Instigators (2024)

Plot of The Instigators: A trio of incompetent robbers are hired by a fence to rob a fund raising gathering on the assumption that the incumbent mayor Miccelli will win and that the coffers will be filled with money. In the preliminary discussion Rory requires $32,480 exactly to pay off his debts and restore his relationship with his son. But from the start things go wrong. A man of Chinese heritage wins the mayoral contest and there are no contributions. The kitchens are full of people instead of empty, and the robbers accidentally arrive at a meeting of Mayor Miccelli and his henchmen.  Shots are exchanged leaving Rory alive and Cobby injured. They escape in the armoured car and recruit Rory’s therapist as a doctor and hostage, The one thing they have is a bracelet of the mayor’s which has on it the code to access the mayor’s safe, but Toomey a special operations man is tasked with the recovery of the bracelet. Does it matter, Rory can remember the number anyway so they get into the mayor’s office pursued by armed police. How can it end?

Content: There is drinking. Cobby is an alcoholic who but successfully register  no booze on a breathalyser before he can ride his motor cycle. During the film he is generally unsuccessful in his search for booze. No sex or nudity, or drug taking. Several comic confrontations, which remain comic even when people are killed and Cobby wounded. Several vehicle chases as the robbers escape at one time only succeeding is getting away by a crash of a large truck in a tunnel. Later they escape in a fire truck and so on. Once in the mayor’s office they are pinned down by snipers, but find a way of escaping.

A View: So Rory is a bit autistic so he can remember things, but still insists on making notes during the preparation for the heist. The film follows a well worn path, with little to differentiate it from other heists gone wrong, apart from the interaction between the stars who do very well. This is an Apple film so don’t expect too much. Some thing to watch while doing something else.

Fun Fact: The last time the Director, Doug Liman and Matt Damon were together was 22 years before in The Bourne Identity, which set a new standard for action films.