The Instigators

Just a good traditional movie. And I'm so grateful for that.

There are no inserted characters into this film. There is no political statement in this film. There are no incompetent actors or directing or writing in this film. It's just a good film.

It doesn't try to do a whole lot. It's a character-driven heist drama. It achieves what it sets out to. With developed characters, good dialogue, a decent script and competent cinematography.

There is also very minimal CGI. You know that the locations, for the most part, are real.

It won't be in anyones top 10 movies of all time, but for the present year, and all of the rubbish we're shovel-fed, this is very refreshing.

Love the incessant patter between Afleck and Damon - my dad's family hails from Boston and Peabody and the yabbering between the two sounded just like many a Thanksgiving. Really fun, lightweight caper that gets a lot of its pleasure from the two bickering. Man, those two brought me back home.

Great supporting cast and enough unforeseen twists to make it quite original. Not really for the family audience as they use the f-word like a preposition; often and in nearly every sentence. Very, very Boston...tender ears and delicate sensibilities may be easily offended.

If you can turn your brain off and go along with the ride, then it's highly recommended!

This is a lighthearted fun movie which doesn't take itself too seriously. Having watched the trailer a few weeks ago I was interested in seeing this. That said I am no Casey Affleck fan, but I have to say he was very good.

This is one of those films where everything that could go wrong for the protagonists, does go wrong. I found myself chuckling at the ineptitude and misfortune of the main characters, and willing them on to achieve their goal. I also thought that psychiatrist played a great role in the film, at times dead pan, and at other times she was very funny.

For me, this is a good old fashioned comedy crime caper and worth a look.

There isn't too much to say about this one, so I won't go on too much. I think theres a lot to like and not much that you won't, though in fairness its certainly no blockbuster. Most of the good bits are given away in the trailer and said trailer unfortunately paints a picture of a movie far funnier than it actually is, but then trailers do tend to exaggerate don't they.

The film is more humerous than funny. I did get a couple of laugh out loud moments, but only a couple. Most were moments that made me chuckle and appreciate the humour but not really laugh. There is good chemistry between the accomplished cast which works very well, and though I'd not say there were any stellar performances, the whole cast handled their roles competently. I think there really needed to be more for the cast to work with to give this one the 'Umph' it needed to raise the bar. Its ok but, for film that promises so much with such an accomplised cast, it needed a lot more.

Its a heist film of course, and it is very much like 'Tower Heist' which also features Casey Affleck as well as Ben Stiller, Eddy Murphy, Matthew Broderick, and Alan Alder.

The instigators takes a similarly light-hearted approach to the genre though, the back story is s little more sinsiter with Damon and Afflecks backstory being somewhat more grim. Still, this movie doesn't deliver or fulfill in the way Tower Heist does, and I think that may be because Affleck is really the only character with lines good enough to deliver the humerous aspect with any merit. The stoicism of Damons character does parry well with Affleck's but something is missing to completely deliver the experience I think they production is going for. I think the script probably needed a re-write, possibly with a fresh set of eyes to enhance the ideas on offer.

The screen play is decent, nothing too complicated, and for the most part it works quite well. The meat of this movie is really coming from the characters and just falls a little short, even outside the humour.

I will also say that I think the direction may have been a contributing factor to how this one played out negatively. The minimalist manner that seems to underscore much of the lines lacks the emphasis that was often needed... but thats just my opinion.

Ok I said I wasn't going to go on and I've already done so more than intended. In a nutshell the film underdelivers, but is still a decent watch... which kinda goes to show what could have been, which is even more unfortunate.

6/10 from me.

It's a good Sunday afternoon feet up watch. Grab your snacks & enjoy.

Starts a touch slow but builds. All the actors do their job.

The biggest selling point for this film, is that, it is an actual original non-condensing fun film made for adults. And these days that's very rare. No remake, gender role reversal, super hero, victim chic in sight.

The film isn't going to pull up trees. The script & direction/editing could have been better, but it is a solid 6.8 & as such it's enjoyable.

There's not much more to say without sounding pretentious.

This film is for popcorn & relaxation. The purpose of this film is at the heart of why movies are made; simply to entertain.