With “The Instigators”, director Doug Liman reteams with Matt Damon for the first time since their 2002 franchise launching hit “The Bourne Identity”. Their new film is a star-studded affair both in front of and behind the camera. Damon stars alongside Casey Affleck and is co-producer with his longtime friend Ben Affleck. In addition to co-starring, Casey Affleck also co-writes the screenplay with Chuck Maclean. Then you have the rich supporting cast which includes Hong Chau, Ron Perlman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Ving Rhames, Paul Walter Hauser, and Toby Jones among others.

Despite that wealth of talent, “The Instigators” is a buddy heist movie that never quite kicks into a higher gear. It comes close in spots. But as a whole, there’s too little action to be considered exciting, there’s not enough laughs to make this a satisfying buddy comedy, and it lacks the grit to be good crime thriller. “The Instigators” dabbles in a lot but isn’t committed to much of anything. It’s a lackluster misadventure that spends too much time sitting idle. And every time you think things are about to ramp up, its momentum stalls.

The story goes something like this – a Boston crime boss named Mr. Besegai (played by Michael Stuhlbarg) hatches a plan to steal campaign money from the corrupt Mayor Miccelli (Ron Perlman) during a $500-a-plate re-election gala. He puts the heist in the hands of Scalvo (Jack Harlow), a young and dense hood who (for reasons that are never quite clear) hires a desperate former marine, Rory (Damon) and a chatterbox ex-con, Cobby (Casey Affleck) to help him with the job.

From the outset we know the heist is doomed. The inept trio botches the robbery at nearly every turn, Scalvo ends up dead, and Rory and Cobby go on the lamb. And they’re not only running from the cops. Besegai hires an unreliable goon named Booch (Paul Walter Hauser) to take them out. Meanwhile the Mayor calls on Frank Toomey (Ving Rhames), an efficient and hard-nosed fixer to track down our harebrained protagonists.

The pursuit takes the pair across greater Boston, plunging us into the characters’ blue-collar milieu. What humor there is comes through the often organic banter between Damon and Affleck. The pair do a good job playing off each other, and both are convincing as clueless mismatched dolts. But their unremarkable journey struggles to generate much energy, though it gets a spark from Hong Chau playing Rory’s therapist, Dr. Donna Rivera. She’s roped into their hijinks through some ludicrous circumstances and offers a much-needed presence.

The film’s biggest sin is its massive waste of a wonderful and overqualified ensemble. Understandably Damon and Affleck are the centerpieces. But the supporting cast are either woefully underused or constricted by bad material. Chau and Rhames are able to whittle a little fun out of what they’re given. Stuhlbarg is stuck constantly screaming. Perlman is just a caricature. Hauser and Jones are barely blips. And somehow the great Alfred Molina comes across as an afterthought.

There are a few good laughs scattered throughout, mostly during the movie’s low-key moments, and we’re treated to a couple of well-filmed chase scenes that click. But “The Instigators” teases a lot more than it delivers. As a result, most of what we get is routine and old hat. And despite its obvious hometown intentions, nothing much feels authentic, including its nicely polished and hard to buy ending. “The Instigators” premieres August 9th on Apple TV+.

VERDICT – 2 STARS