The Instigators
Apple TV+ | Release Date: August 2, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
20
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Total FilmJames MottramAug 1, 2024
Sharply observed with a top-notch cast and a pleasing old-school vibe, The Instigators is tremendously entertaining. Read full review
80
ColliderTania HussainAug 1, 2024
Thanks to a witty script and a charming cast led by Damon and Affleck, The Instigators is a fun heist film with heart that blends the right dose of humor, action, and emotion for a comedy you can watch again and again. Read full review
75
TheWrapMatt GoldbergAug 15, 2024
Although The Instigators can at times feel like a Coen Brothers movie without the polish, there’s enough charm and energy flowing through Doug Liman’s picture to keep the film humming. Read full review
75
Original-CinLiz BraunAug 6, 2024
Fast, funny and entirely forgettable, The Instigators is an entertaining if shopworn heist story. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAug 1, 2024
The Instigators is unremarkable but consistently amusing, and makes you feel like everyone showed up at the set expecting a party. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJake CoyleAug 1, 2024
Though Liman knows how to mix action and comedy as well as anyone, “The Instigators” is better whenever there’s less going on. Read full review
75
ConsequenceLiz Shannon MillerAug 1, 2024
There’s a lot to be said for a movie that knows exactly what it wants to be and hits that exact mark; it’s not that The Instigators lacks ambition, but like its characters, it doesn’t dream too big. It shows up to do its job — finding the fun. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineRoss McIndoeAug 1, 2024
Like a well-executed heist, the film knows how to get in and get out with minimal fuss. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneDavid FearAug 1, 2024
If nothing else, Damon and Affleck’s Beacon Street Wild Ride reminds you that movie stars plus car crashes, divided by gunshots and laughs, was part of a regular, balanced American-cinema breakfast. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeAug 1, 2024
From a filmmaking perspective, it’s no easy feat taking what looks like so much chaos and organizing it into a character-driven comedy, but that’s just what Affleck and co-writer (and “City on a Hill” series creator) Chuck MacLean have accomplished, giving Liman the blueprint to alternate between unpredictable set-pieces and more relaxed examples of male bonding. Read full review
68
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerAug 2, 2024
None of the players here were in Ben Affleck’s The Town, but this feels like a companion piece to that one, too, in both its entertainment value and occasional overplayed hangdog Damon-Affleck pathos. Read full review
63
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenAug 20, 2024
Much of The Instigators feels a little lost somewhere between Ocean’s Eleven and The Town, but the movie—starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck as desperate strangers who get paired up for an ill-fated heist in Boston—has enough camaraderie between the leads, as well as a sharply comic supporting turn from Hong Chau, to make for a breezy crime farce. Read full review
63
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottAug 8, 2024
Does his film fishtail around narratively? Does it feel overly episodic? Does it lack any sort of stick-to-the-ribs substance? In order: Yes, probably and for sure. But it is also a fun and enjoyable summertime diversion, and sometimes that’s all the message a movie needs. Read full review
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