Movie Review – Rip, The
Principal Cast : Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Steven Yeun, Teyanna Taylor, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Scott Adkins, Kyle Chandler, Nestor Carbonell, Lina Esco, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Cliff Chamberlain, Alex Hernandez, Daisuke Tsuji.
Synopsis: A group of Miami cops discovers a stash of millions in cash, leading to distrust as outsiders learn about the huge seizure, making them question who to rely on.
********
I don’t care what anyone says: Joe Carnahan keeps making absolute bangers that I love to watch. From everyone’s all-time favourite grindhouse action cult classic, Smokin’ Aces, through to Liam Neeson’s wolf-punching mayhem in The Grey, the limousine-action nonsense of Stretch, and more recently the muscular B-movie blockbusters Boss Level and Copshop, Carnahan has carved out a career steeped in guns, grit and gloriously machismo-laden cinema. He delivers must-see nonsense every time up to bat, a filmmaker with a brash sensibility that sneers at subtlety and delights in high-octane chaos.
The Rip, a Netflix original built around the dream pairing of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, hones the who-can-you-trust thriller to near perfection. With the Oscar winners headlining what turns out to be a stellar cast and an absurdly over-complicated heist-gone-wrong plot, it’s a labyrinthine jigsaw of mistrust, money and malice. Carnahan’s breathless direction of near-incomprehensible action sequences makes this feel like a cross between End of Watch and Den of Thieves — reckless, relentless and great popcorn munching time at the movies.
The story sees Miami Tactical Narcotics Team, led by Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon) and JD Byrne (Affleck), descend on an isolated suburban house under the pretence of ripping out laundered cartel money. Their team — including Mike Ro (Steven Yeun – Minari), Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another) and Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandino Moreno) — meet the house’s only resident, Desi Molina (Sasha Calle – The Flash’s Supergirl). Hidden buckets of cash totalling somewhere near $20 million are discovered and, with rumours swirling that corrupt cops have been filching loot from similar raids, tensions begin to flare. Everyone starts eyeballing everyone else, convinced that someone’s on the take. Emotions boil over further when the score ties back to their recently murdered police chief Jackie Velez (Lina Esco). Intimidation, double-crosses, backstabbing and fraying tempers ratchet up the stakes as the race to uncover who killed her and who wants the money builds to a thrilling climax.
By most standards The Rip isn’t a film for everyone. It’s got Damon and Affleck cursing the shit out of each other, it’s got bullets and blood, there’s stacks of money and twist upon excruciating plot twist trying to work out who wants to steal it. The old nothing-you-see-is-what-it-seems parlour tricks are rife here, and Carnahan’s trademark directorial flourishes are everywhere. But I can’t imagine The Rip is gonna satisfy anyone seeking more esoteric fare. Like the majority of his oeuvre, Carnahan’s filmmaking style is the directorial equivalent of Jason Statham’s acting style: it gets the job done, usually with slick panache and a dash of fuck-yeah testosterone.
There’s also no shying away from the uglier undercurrents in the story. The Rip is bulging with egotism and ingrained misogyny, a knowing wink to copaganda and the hysterical screeching about systemic corruption we’re seeing writ large in the world these days. The film often creaks under the weight of its respectably low budget — the settings don’t feel all that epic in scope. The Miami-set plot could have literally been anywhere, since the city barely plays a part; the locations — a cul-de-sac, a run-down house and a night-time street chase — are conspicuously confined, with almost no background actors to be seen for the majority of the film. Wikipedia lists the budget at nearly $100m, which must have mostly gone to paying Damon and Affleck their salaries, because this film doesn’t look much like a hundred milly. Fifty, tops.
That said, the casting — even in minor roles — is strong. Kyle Chandler, Néstor Carbonell and even B-movie action staple Scott Adkins make appearances that elevate the implied tension in every scene with astute skill. And even when things lean into being a little silly, Damon and Affleck keep things on the rails through sheer A-list presence, their chemistry and bickering the sort of anchor the script desperately needs. There’s a palpable sense of danger as relationships fray and suspicions rise, even if the last-gasp plot turn at the end feels just a little predictable.
Carnahan co-wrote the script with Michael McGrale, and together they’ve crafted one of those mystery thrillers where the reveals come thick and fast, as though the story is trying to hoodwink the audience as much as the characters hoodwink each other. I must be astoundingly dumb because I was hoodwinked a lot, although the constant sense of let’s-show-them-we’re-clever storytelling style meant that by the end of the film I was continually waiting for another new twist; perhaps that eagerness for novelty was a flaw, but it didn’t ruin things for me. The tension in the story, and with (and between) the various characters, felt alive even during quieter stretches — not that there were many. The film’s octane level and thrum of danger are turned up to eleven for nearly the entire runtime.
I’ve accused Joe Carnahan before of making what I think of as beer-and-pizza movies, and that’s exactly what The Rip is. It’s a nonsense idea brought to charismatic life by a director who knows how to get the blood pumping and actors who can turn even the worst word-salad screenplay into near-Shakespeare — or at the very least make it convincing. Reputedly based on a true story, although I’d wager a fair bit of dramatic licence was taken, The Rip is gangbusting entertainment that won’t win any awards or even become a classic, yet it entertains throughout thanks to galvanising performances and a singularly enthralling plot conceit. Perfect Friday night gonzo cinema. Enjoy.
Who wrote this?
