Saturday, 7 February 2026

VOD: The Rip (dir: Joe Carnahan, 2026)

"How's it going, man?"
"Trying to find a f**k to give."

In this glossy Netflix police thriller, the Miami Tactical Narcotics Team - that includes a weary but level-headed Dane (Matt Damon) and scenery-chewing J.D. (Ben Affleck) is facing investigation when their own Captain is murdered, but a raid on a drugs stash house uncovers a massive load of cash that soon turns the film into a bottle/siege as the team become trapped and under fire, alliances and trust shifts as the lure of the money exerts its influence, and a rescue that opens up the finale to the well-shot city at night is not all that it seems.  The film presents a beleaguered police force rife with corruption, filled with internal suspicion and pushed to the limit by under-resourcing, setting up what seems to be the film's basic message, that money is the root of all evil.  The script is somewhat knuckle-headed in its need to explain everything very obviously and is bursting with the f-word, but it handles the story's twists and turns effectively.  The experienced lead team (director/writer Joe Carnahan and the reunited Damon/Affleck duo) can sell this kind of material in their sleep, making The Rip a slick, efficient but rather generic movie that is entertaining enough but perhaps highlights the difference in expectations and delivery of a Netflix product as opposed to a Hollywood cinema movie.  
 

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