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The Instigators

The Instigators

Crime · Comedy · 2024

Rory and Cobby are unlikely partners thrown together for a heist. But when it goes awry, they team up with an unusual accomplice — Rory's therapist — to outrun police, backward bureaucrats, and a vengeful crime boss.

Movie details

The Instigators

“Worst. Heist. Ever.”

2024 Crime · Comedy 1h 42m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.2 / 10

41.7K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

41 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

48 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Rory and Cobby are unlikely partners thrown together for a heist. But when it goes awry, they team up with an unusual accomplice — Rory's therapist — to outrun police, backward bureaucrats, and a vengeful crime boss.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Instigators?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Pain & Gain

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Comedy · 2013

Daniel Lugo, manager of the Sun Gym in 1990s Miami, decides that there is only one way to achieve his version of the American dream: extortion. To achieve his goal, he recruits musclemen Paul and Adrian as accomplices. After several failed attempts, they abduct rich businessman Victor Kershaw and convince him to sign over all his assets to them. But when Kershaw makes it out alive, authorities are reluctant to believe his story.

22 Jump Street

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Action · 2016

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The Heat

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Action · 2013

Uptight and straight-laced, FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn is a methodical investigator with a reputation for excellence--and hyper-arrogance. Shannon Mullins, one of Boston P.D.'s "finest," is foul-mouthed and has a very short fuse, and uses her gut instinct and street smarts to catch the most elusive criminals. Neither has ever had a partner, or a friend for that matter. When these two wildly incompatible law officers join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they become the last thing anyone expected: buddies.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Doug Liman

Written by

Chuck MacLean · Casey Affleck

Matt Damon

Matt Damon

Rory

Casey Affleck

Casey Affleck

Cobby

Ving Rhames

Ving Rhames

Frank Toomey

Jack Harlow

Jack Harlow

Scalvo

Michael Stuhlbarg

Michael Stuhlbarg

Mr. Besegai

Alfred Molina

Alfred Molina

Richie Dechico

Owen Earls

Owen Earls

Charlie Haggerty

Court is in session

Put The Instigators on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.