Joe Carnahan has been doing his thing for so long that I think we forget that he made one of the best cop thrillers, well, ever, with 2002’s Narc. He’s sort of bounced around a lot since then, leaping from occasional blockbusters such as The A-Team and The Grey to more indie stuff such as Stretch and Boss Level. One of the things I’ve always respected most about Carnahan is that he’s impossible to pin down; he could do a straight-up comedy next. But no matter what, he’s always got this fantastic grip on telling the stories of disillusioned, morally compromised cops, and he does so again with The Rip, his biggest and best movie in years.
Produced by Netflix, The Rip stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and looks like it should be playing in a multiplex near you. Carnahan is back in his element, penning the script as well as directing this kinetic tale of an elite Miami narcotics squad that is tipped off to a stash of drug cash. But when they arrive, they discover the loot is considerably more than expected, around $20M, and someone on the team could be trying to rip it off for themselves. All of this happens weeks after their beloved Captain is murdered under mysterious circumstances, possibly linked to this sudden discovery.
The team consists of a ridiculously star-powered cast. Damon plays the team leader, Lt. Dane Dumars, who is struggling with the recent death of his son, mounting medical bills, and fatigue over the job itself. Affleck is his friend and right-hand-man, Detective Sgt. JD Byrne, who is the guy who puts his nose to the grindstone and just does the work. Also in the group are One Battle After Another breakout Teyana Taylor, Catalina Sandino Morena, and Steven Yeun. Kyle Chandler is shady DEA agent Matty Nix, while Scott Adkins gets a rare non-martial arts role as Byrne’s little brother, an FBI agent.
The Rip is a surprisingly nimble psychological thriller that plays with our expectations of the genre. Of course, you’ve got a bunch of cops in a violent, high-stress unit, most of whom feel unappreciated and unfairly compensated for the dangerous work they do, and so we expect one of them to be dirty. Or perhaps, a few of them are compromised in some way. And so the tension mounts as the team begins turning on one another, keeping secrets close to the vest, and doing things that can’t be explained away. There are also unexpected problems that can’t be accounted for or controlled, like the stash house’s suspcious caretaker, Desi, played by ex-Supergirl Sasha Calle. She’s this x-factor that we have no idea where she’s coming from or what she’ll do.
While Carnahan is great at keeping the anxiety levels high, The Rip is also just a killer action flick, too. There are car chases, hand-to-hand brawls, and gunfights that remind you of Carnahan’s Smokin’ Aces, a film that also featured Affleck. As Damon and Affleck get older, it’s fascinating to watch them play characters who are beaten down by life, with the weight of the world heavy on their shoulders. It colors our perception of their characters, and adds to legitimately stunning finale that plays out differently than most films of this genre would.
If Netflix had dropped The Rip into theaters for an extensive run, I think it would’ve done pretty big numbers, especially at this time of year. It’s more than worth seeking out at home, and is a return to early form for Carnahan. Hopefully, this isn’t the last time we get to see him, Affleck, and Damon work together because they are such a perfect team.
The Rip is streaming on Netflix now.
