The Rip: Damon and Affleck Lift This Tense Thriller (Early Review)

Writer-director Joe Carnahan’s third film released within the last eight months, The Rip sees him team up with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who appear on screen together once again. The film follows a group of Miami cops led by Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon) and Detective Sergeant JD Byrne (Affleck) who discover a stash house containing millions of dollars. This leads to distrust among the team, as outsiders start to learn about the huge seizure, and all bets are off as the team begins to question who they can trust and rely on. The circumstances leading to the film’s release, be it its January release date, lack of promotion, and lack of a theatrical release, may be a cause for pause. However, The Rip delivers a solid, fast paced crime thriller worth checking out when it drops on Netflix tomorrow.

Despite a familiar story, it remains every bit as gripping, intense as one would hope as the tension builds, all leading to an action-packed final act. Full of twists and turns, it will keep audiences on the edge of their seats as they ready for what is coming around the next turn, keeping them guessing and unsure of who to trust. Meanwhile, Carnahan effectively helms the action, as well as their visceral, tense, resulting in exciting sequences, from shootouts to chases. Similarly, great sound design adds to those sequences, and  the minimal shaky cam also adds to their chaotic nature. A fast paced 112 minutes, the film flies by, wasting very little time and continuing to build momentum as it goes on.

Now it should come as no surprise that Damon and Affleck are great here as Dumars and Byrne, even if those roles are not unlike who they’ve played before. Playing into the tension of the story, it’s unclear where either character stands and whether or not they could be trusted, while maintaining their signature charms. Tapping into their established chemistry, Damon and Affleck gets the most out of their characters, making all the most interesting to watch. On the other hand, the supporting cast is full of familiar faces, but the biggest standout is easily Yeun as Detective Mike Ro. Not only is he given the biggest supporting role, it is also a tricky one that he pulls off, almost stealing the show from Damon and Affleck. In terms of the rest of the cast, Teyana Taylor, Sacha Calle, Kyle Chandler, and Catalina Sandino Moreno are wasted in roles that they make the best out of.

When Damon and Affleck collaborate, they usually contribute to the script or write it themselves, however, that is not the case here That being said, while not poorly written by any means, it is certainly a familiar story that leans on countless other crime thrillers and taps hard into a trove of cop movie tropes. Not much if known about about any of the characters, including our two leads, which will make it that much more difficult to care about them, essentially relegating most of the supporting cast to mere window dressing.

In spite of its flaws, once the film gets going, The Rip is still a solid crime thriller with strong performances from Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Steven Yeun. Above all else, great action sequences, and an engaging central mystery help keep it going and power through a fast paced sub 2 hour runtime. What would have been a worthy theatrical experience, the film still has all the makings for the next streaming hit geared towards adult audiences. With a new year in 2026 upon us, it is off to a good start with this one.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/