It’s been a matter of public record in film for a number of years now that you should never cross streams.

Someone who didn’t get the memo is director Doug Liman, but after his hugely popular disagreement with Amazon over his remake of Road House, it’s no wonder he’s crossed streams for a nibble at AppleTV+.

Sometimes making money the old fashioned way – as in having a job – just isn’t enough. Cobby (Ben Affleck) is an alcoholic and has already found himself on the wrong side of the law as an ex con, so has no issue in signing up for this quick and easy job.

He meets Rory (Matt Damon), whose path to this point is somewhat different; he’s a Marine vet, divorced, and struggling with mental health issues to the point where he’s told his therapist Dr. Rivera (Hong Chau) that he’s had thoughts of taking his own life.

Rory is in a lot of debt with his ex, whom he has a son with who has been mostly absent from his life, and needs a specific amount of cash from this job.

They’re told it’s a piece of cake: all they have to do is go into the Mayor’s campaign building on the wharf after his re-election, and take his considerable party contributions from those that have attended. Fifteen minutes top, in and out.

It is however, far from easy, as they soon discover, with nothing going the way it should, ending up with the pair of them being discovered at the event, forcing them to run, with only a few bits of jewellery and a handful of notes for their troubles.

However one of the items they have, the Mayor’s bracelet, is enough for him to send the full weight of the law after them, putting the hapless criminals in a very tight spot in Boston.

This is about as different as Liman could get from Road House; it’s a film with slower beats, with an indie sensibility, that is most definitely a Boston native.

It’s sold as a comedy crime caper but that’s overselling it on all fronts. The comedy is overtly dry, with just as many misses as hits; it’s co-written by Affleck, but comedy doesn’t appear to be his forte. Neither does writing a compelling crime caper, which is unfortunate.

It’s all too minimalist, as if Liman is trying to channel his best Soderbergh, but failing miserably.

It’s a shame as it boasts a great cast that also includes Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Toby Jones and Paul Walter Hauser, all of whom have a criminally small amount to do.

The interaction between Damon and Affleck is occasionally entertaining, but it’s not the most dynamic pairing on screen.

The one bright light is Chau as the therapist, who’s the only one brave enough to push their character, giving her a surprising amount of edge.

Liman’s direction is adequate, with a few chase scenes thrown in to increase the tempo, and yet the film as a whole is reluctant to really let rip.

A lot is also made of it being set in Boston, which feels a little overkill with the accent and locales, and it’s just a case of pushing for a location being like another character in the film, that little bit too much.

But despite its underwhelming plot, the pairing of Damon and Affleck, although not entirely entertaining, makes this the kind of heist film that just about does enough to warrant stealing an hour and forty minutes of your day from you.