‘The Rip’ Review (Netflix)
Stars: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Steven Yuen, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, Kyle Chandler | Written and Directed by Joe Carnahan
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck re-team for straight-to-Netflix dirty cop thriller The Rip, written and directed by Joe Carnahan (Narc). Frankly, the fact that the film has gone direct to streaming is an even bigger crime than the one depicted in the movie, as this is a high-profile, high-quality thriller that clearly deserves to be seen on the big screen.
Set in present-day Miami, the film opens with a cop, Jackie Velez (Libya Esco), getting shot and killed by two masked assailants, but not before she has time to send a final text message. The recipient of that message is Lt Dane Dumars (Damon), who leads a crew of cops – including Detective Sergeant J.T. Byrne (Affleck), and officers Ro (Steven Yuen), Baptiste (Oscar-nominated Teyana Taylor) and Salazar (Catalina Sandino Moreno) – to a suspected stash house, where they meet a young woman (Sasha Calle as Desi) and unexpectedly stumble onto a haul of $20m.
However, it soon becomes clear that one or more of the cops in Dumar’s team (including Dumar himself) may be dirty and complicit in Jackie’s death. As the cops begin to suspect each other of planning to steal the $20m, the tension is cranked up still further after the safe house is attacked and a mysterious phone call tells them to take the money they need and leave, or everyone will die.
Carnahan’s twisty script does a great job of keeping the audience guessing throughout, forcing you to scrutinise each character for clues as to what’s really going on. Similarly, the tension is cranked high throughout, exacerbated by the fact that the department rules require them to count the money on site, meaning that the entire team are sitting ducks for whoever comes looking for the money.
The twists themselves are nicely handled, in such a way that will repay repeat viewings of the film – one of the few advantages of it currently being on Netflix. That said, there’s one particular moment that feels like a bit of a cheat and makes no sense after the main reveal.
Carnahan has built his reputation on solid, satisfying thrillers, and he’s on good form here, maintaining an engaging pace, despite having the majority of the action unfold in a single location, with character movement restricted due to the counting of the money. The action scenes, when they finally come, feel like a liberation from that restriction and are doubly effective as a result.
The performances are excellent. It’s always a pleasure to see Affleck and Damon in the same movie, and their offscreen connection plays into their characters here. Damon, if anything, is playing slightly against type, but it works well, as it means there’s something unsettling about him from the off.
As for the supporting cast, Calle makes a strong impression as Desi, who may or may not know more than she’s letting on, and Taylor and Moreno have an engaging rapport as Baptiste and Salazar. Similarly, Yuen is good value as Ro, and there’s strong support from Kyle Chandler, as a DEA Agent who’s called in at a crucial moment.
In short, The Rip is a very enjoyable dirty cop-slash-heist thriller, enlivened by a sharp script, strong performances and expert direction. It’s a cut above the usual straight-to-Netflix standard for this sort of thing, which only makes it doubly disappointing that it didn’t receive even a token theatrical release.
**** 4/5
The Rip is streaming on Netflix now.
