THE RIP. (L to R) Sasha Calle as Desi and Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars in The Rip. Cr. Claire Folger/Netflix © 2025.
It’s January. Only a couple of weeks into the year at best. This is the month in the yearly movie slate when we get projects that studios have no idea what to do with, either because they’re not good or because they simply don’t know if there is an audience for them.
So, naturally, when I saw that a crime thriller starring & produced by two incredibly well-known actors (and best friends since grade school), Ben Affleck & Matt Damon, was coming out this week, my mind went to less than optimistic places. Damon is starring in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey this summer, and Affleck is starring in another Netflix film later this year that he’s directing as well; therefore, The Rip HAS to be, at best, the minor appetizer to their main courses later on, right? Or even worse, the marketing ploy that puts their face out there, but doesn’t quite add up as a movie.
Well, much like the experience of watching The Rip itself, my advice to you would be don’t trust everything you think you know to be true.
Based on real events deeply personal to writer/director Joe Carnahan & his friend’s experience as head of tactical narcotics for the Miami-Dade Police Department, the film finds a similar tactical team, led by newly appointed Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon), in a state of grief, anger, & turmoil as one of their own, Captain Jackie Velez (“S.W.A.T.” star Lina Esco), was gunned down on her way to meet an informant.
THE RIP. (L to R) Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Mateo ‘Matty’ Nix, Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne, Steven Yeun as Detective Mike Ro, Teyana Taylor as Detective Numa Baptiste and Catalina Sandino Moreno as Detective Lolo Salazar in The Rip. Cr. Claire Folger/Netflix © 2025.
Questioned by the FBI and fraying at the seams, the team responds to a tip about a derelict stash house with a considerable amount of cash on site. When the estimate goes from thousands to several million, trust among the group is tested and emotions start raging out of control. As outside forces learn about the size of the seizure, everything is called into question and their lives may be on the line.
Influenced by the more interpersonal, character-driven cop thrillers of his late 70s/early 80s youth, Carnahan lands The Rip smack between his far grittier, more intense riff on the genre NARC with a more straightforward crime story like recent Netflix films like Rebel Ridge, Reptile, or Lost Bullet – police corruption mixed with a whodunnit swerve & a climactic shoot out.
The screenplay, co-written by TV police procedural Michael McGrale, is designed to bluff, distract, & distort until you believe that most anyone on this star-studded team – Golden Globe winner Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) and Oscar nominee/Emmy winner Steven Yeun (Beef) outside of Damon & Affleck – could be in on jacking the rip or something more heinous. Once the movie moves to the stash house, the film flows with the performances of Damon & Affleck as they bounce from room to room telling assorted lies and half-truths for the benefit of who needs to hear them, even to themselves. The chemistry between the long-time friends & frequent collaborators raises the ceiling for every scene they’re in, unafraid to get intense with the believability of their characters’ long-standing relationship never in doubt.
THE RIP. Teyana Taylor as Detective Numa Baptiste in The Rip. Cr. Claire Folger/Netflix © 2025.
The power of the film is in the orchestration & reveal of who is in control of the narrative leading to how the corrupt finally get exposed. Do we want to believe a good man with nothing to lose can be corrupted by greed & power? Or do we think that a seedy underbelly within the department could be making moves & dismantling from within? Anything is possible as the narrative & tone shifts with the rise of the stakes (shoutout to composer & frequent Carnahan collaborator Clinton Shorter for punctuating those tonal shifts with well-constructed, ominous rips of his own).
Of course, as this is a modern Carnahan film, the dominoes topple one by one until the bullets start flying and boy do they. The action, while not as relentless as Carnahan’s Frank Grillo films (Cop Shop, Boss Level), is smartly staged and ramped up as the film progresses. While the explosive armored car chase will stand out among the rest, the best executions may lie in the tighter environments like the armored vehicle interior standoff or the attack on the home garage.
While the film does have its weak points in certain dialogue exchanges or its overly saccharine final moments, The Rip may be one of the 2020s most entertaining law enforcement crime thrillers; full of intrigue, deception, & adrenaline in a normally dead spot of the year. Rarely do we get the combination of prestige A-list acting talent & explosive genre storytelling that doesn’t feel like it’s grabbing for a paycheck or an award, so enjoy this one while you can.
Watch The Rip If You Like
- Prince of the City
- Narc
- Triple Frontier
- Rebel Ridge
- End of Watch
MVP of The Rip
Ben Affleck as Detective Sgt. J.D. Byrne
THE RIP. Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne in The Rip. Cr. Claire Folger/Netflix © 2025.
This is my favorite register for Affleck. Expletive flying, gruff exterior, facial hair touting, beaten down by life register. The Boston forward facing version of Affleck.
The Town, Triple Frontier, and now The Rip – they all let Affleck be the street rat, the time bomb, the fuck you; the uppercut in an ensemble of jabs. In this film in particular, he gets to square off often with the more subdued & calculating Damon, which pitches him perfectly as the permanent 5 o’clock shadow with muscles and a finger on the trigger. Affleck just works for me as a snarky blunt instrument who smiles when called a bully by his younger brother. It’s just science.
Get your popcorn ready! This twisty update on the classic dirty cop crime thriller is exactly the type of dormant genre that Netflix can bring back into our lives to great success. Damon & Affleck elevate the procedural elements while writer/director Joe Carnahan keeps the mystery flowing until the bullets fly. Another well-produced genre film from Netflix in 2026!
