Too often, Netflix will release a film with big-name actors in it, only for it to feel like background noise. And while their latest offering, made in conjunction with Artists Equity, won’t be a contender for movie of the year, The Rip was surprisingly entertaining, well-shot, and compelling.
Directed by Joe Carnahan of Narc, Smokin’ Aces, and The Grey fame, The Rip stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (founders of Artists Equity) as two members of Miami’s Tactical Narcotics Team (TNT for short) who face sudden scrutiny and suspicion after one of their own was murdered by an unknown assailant. That’s on top of the suspicions of corruption in the department. Recently promoted, Damon’s Lieutenant Dane Dumars receives a tip about a house that may be hiding illicit money. With the help of Affleck’s Detective JD Byrne, Steven Yuen’s Detective Mike Ro, Teyana Taylor as Detective Numa Baptiste, and Catalina Sandino Moreno as Detective Lolo Salazar, they venture towards the suspected house, only to discover a prize well above the amount in the tip. On top of that, outside parties seem to know about the money in the house, resulting in distrust between the team as they question if they have a rat in their midst. Rounding out the cast are Kyle Chandler as a DEA agent, Sasha Calle as Desi Molina, the owner of the house in question, and Scott Adkins as FBI Agent Del Byrne, JD’s brother.
Of course, one of the big selling points of this movie is having Damon and Affleck acting alongside each other again. The duo reunite once again, and as always, the real-life friends have such great chemistry together on screen, even if this time, there’s a lot more distrust and antagonism between them. Rules get bent and flat-out broken, and the bonds of friendship and loyalty definitely get tested during the course of this operation. Most of the film is confined to the house in question, but it amazingly never feels slow or boring. I think that’s because there’s a great sense of uncertainty, mystery, and the threat of violence to come that propels the plot forward quite successfully. There’s a really great moment of tension around halfway through the movie between Yuen and Damon that was quite engaging. I thought the film did a good job at portraying the distrust among the team, which in turn leads to the audience questioning who to trust, even if you have your suspicions.
There’s little action in the film, but what action there is kind of feels inconsequential, as if it were tacked on for the sake of having action. I wouldn’t say there was anything particularly memorable or remarkable about any of the scenes, to be fair, and that’s a bit of a detriment for the film. Don’t forget, this is the same director who gave us Smokin’ Aces, which had balls-to-the-wall action. And I’m not saying this movie needed that level of action, but I think it could’ve have been shot better and could’ve been more creative and memorable. But the sound design was really good; that said, with a lot of punchy weight to the gunshots. The Rip is also a bit tropey with its investigation of corrupt cops, but I never found it a big problem, to be honest. The final moments of the film are ridiculously cheesy, though, and that did feel very out of place considering the gritty tone of the film.
So The Rip is a familiar crime thriller that’s bolstered and elevated by solid tension and great acting by its pretty strong cast. If you’re a fan of these kinds of gritty cop films and don’t mind that the action isn’t anything super amazing, then I think you’ll have a good time. Don’t let the idea of this being a January movie dumped on Netflix make you think it’ll be background filler. This one actually feels like a competently made movie with a cast who showed up to work.