The Rip is copaganda done right. This latest Netflix offering, starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, is a dark crime thriller that proves that sometimes the only thing worse than a bad cop is an entire police department full of them.
The Rip surrounds Boston’s favorite bros with a stellar ensemble: Steven Yeun, Oscar-nominated Teyana Taylor, Kyle Chandler, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Scott Adkins. Affleck and Damon play Miami cops who make “morally gray” seem generous. A tip about a “rip,” a house full of cartel cash, sparks a hectic night of betrayals and paranoia.
Set in the Wild West of Miami-Dade County, the film unfolds in one location over one night, using a whodunit structure that keeps you guessing which corrupt cop is the worst. This containment thriller builds tension from its setting and reveals systemic rot, not just a few bad apples, but a rotten tree.
Every single actor is clearly having a blast playing varying shades of awful human beings. Affleck and Damon bring genuine chemistry and star power, elevating material that would feel entirely forgettable in lesser hands. Steven Yeun continues his hot streak of choosing interesting projects, Teyana Taylor proves her Oscar nomination was no accident, and Kyle Chandler does what Kyle Chandler does best: playing someone who’s equally friendly and frightening.
The Rip is a fun, well-acted thriller that benefits enormously from its star power and Carnahan’s stylish direction. The filmmakers build tension methodically, trusting their cast and premise to sustain interest without resorting to explosive set pieces every ten minutes. Director Joe Carnahan sets The Rip in a grim, underlit (sometimes too underlit) environment, forcing viewers to pay attention to the screen instead of looking at their phones. The cinematography feels grimy and lived-in, more reminiscent of theatrical crime thrillers than Netflix’s usual bright, flat productions.
But for all its stylish direction and strong performances, The Rip ultimately falls back on the tired “good cop stops bad cop” tropes that undermine much of what made the systemic corruption angle interesting. It’s the cinematic equivalent of saying, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Hollywood churns out at least 20 of these paint-by-number police movies per year, complete with all the formulaic character beats and lackluster Latino representation. Unfortunately, The Rip is no different.
Is The Rip mid? In some ways, yes. Yet thanks to its strong cast, sharp cinematography, and enough narrative twists to hold your attention, this Ben Affleck/Matt Damon flick still stands a cut above usual straight-to-streaming slop, even if it shies away from fully delivering on its most interesting critiques.
If you’re looking for a tense, containment thriller with big-name stars doing solid work, director Joe Carnahan delivers a film that rises above Netflix’s usual assembly-line action fare. Just don’t expect the picture to fully commit to its own moral complexity. Because at the end of the day, movies still want us to believe in fictional heroes, even when our real world is full of villains.
