‘The Rip’ is Fine
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in The Rip | Credit: Netflix
When a group of Miami cops finds millions of dollars, they are forced to confront their own demons, each other, and outside forces that seek the cash for themselves.
Normally, I wouldn’t seek out a film like this, but the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck combo had me curious. These two are also joined by Kyle Chandler, Steven Yeun, and Teyana Taylor. With a stacked cast, I had to check this film out.
The Rip is better than your standard Netflix fare, but it’s not one that you will want to engage with long after it’s over. The action is decent, the stakes are clear, and there’s enough mystery to keep you watching (though it’s not hard to see where the film is going).
Of course, the headlines for this film are Matt Damon as the world-weary Lieutenant Dane Dumars and Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne. Damon and Affleck are back together, and, honestly, it’s fun to see these two making movies together again.
Dumars is leading this team, but he’s not okay. He’s burdened by grief and seems to be disengaged in the work. Throughout the film, we learn about the specifics of his experience that help us empathize with this man even more. But his flaws create some tension as we wonder if he’s going to take the money or not. Is he a dirty cop? Or just a man pushed to the edge? We don’t know, but both of those are plausible.
Byrne is a hot-head, and we also wonder if he’s dirty or not. Though he’s also given his life to policing, we’re not sure if he’s also been pushed to this edge. He’s enough of a loose cannon that he might be tempted by such an incredibly large sum of money. Can he be trusted?
The strength of The Rip is the fact that no one in this film seems trustworthy, especially not the cops who are in charge of collecting and counting this large sum of money. The premise is fantastic in creating unease in the viewers, making us question this group, especially after one of their fellow cops is murdered in the opening moments of the film.
Steven Yeun and Teyana Taylor in The Rip | Credit: Netflix
The Rip follows a familiar pattern of shootouts and car chases that we’re used to seeing in cop films. It’s terribly lit, as we’ve come to expect many Netflix films to be, but the story is better than what we’re used to from the streamer’s original films. While it’s not going to give you something interesting to think about after (though I would love to talk about the militarization of American police departments), it is an engaging film for its nearly 2-hour run time.
I do wish that the writing had been tighter and there had been more beneath the surface of this film. With such an incredibly talented cast, this film could’ve been so much more. Still, if you’re interested in a cop film, consider checking out The Rip, which is currently streaming on Netflix.