Imagine breaking through the walls of a cartel house as a cop and finding $20 million sitting in plain sight. The right thing to do would be to turn the money in, but the thought of keeping it is hard to ignore. Dropping the audience into that conundrum, “The Rip” showcases the real conflict of whether the team will remain loyal to the police department or break under the pressure of temptation.
In recent years, as streaming output has accelerated, Netflix has developed a habit of releasing mid-budget crime thrillers, films that tend to be consumed quickly and discussed briefly and forgotten just as fast, movies like “Triple Frontier”(2019), “Beckett” (2021) and “The Killer” (2023). “The Rip,” released on Jan. 16, directed by Joe Carnahan and starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, fits squarely into that category. The film, based on the true story of a Miami cop who discovered a large sum of stashed money, is intense and consistently engaging, yet struggles to capitalize on its poignant narrative potential.
The film follows Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon) and Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne (Affleck), longtime partners whose loyalty begins to fracture as their narcotics investigation team discovers millions in cartel cash during a house search. As outside threats close in, suspicion and moral compromise take hold from within.
In theory, this film has all the components to be great and please audiences. Using its contained suburban Miami setting, mostly confined to a single house and its surrounding streets, compounded by the threat of the cartel closing, the film sustains tension from start to finish. The movie turns spatial limitation into its greatest asset, trapping both the characters and the audience in an intensifying moral dilemma.
What “The Rip” does best is hold momentum. The pacing rarely drags over the 80-minute runtime, as Carnahan understands how to stretch suspense without exhausting it by structuring scenes around uncertainty rather than nonstop action, often delaying information and allowing tension to build through uneasy pauses and quiet shifts of alliances. The story unfolds through carefully timed reveals that encourage viewers to guess with several effective plot twists. Although the ending transpires as somewhat predictable, the film remains engaging due to the sustained pressure created by paranoia, moral temptation and the constant fear of external forces.
The well-shot, visceral and grounded action sequences are another strength, prioritizing power over spectacle. Rather than relying on excessive visual effects or frantic editing, the film allows scenes to breathe just long enough to feel dangerous, resulting in action that feels urgent rather than overwhelming. For instance, a key shootout scene with the cartel feels intimately intense through the tight camera work and realistic sound design without relying on flashy effects. The danger feels real because the scene is paced and shot like a genuine emergency — not an overly dramatic cinematic set piece.
The cast delivers applaudable performances, with Damon and Affleck having an easy and familiar chemistry — as longtime friends and collaborators — that makes their relationship feel believable even when the plot pushes them apart. Affleck brings a quiet volatility, while Damon’s character anchors the film with a steady moral center that gradually erodes under pressure. However, the script does not fully capitalize on its cast, as many characters have only one or two defining traits and little backstory beyond the immediate plot.
This lack of character depth ultimately limits “The Rip.” The film builds tension effectively; however, the payoff feels muted with the final act not quite living up to the careful, steady creation of distrust and fear that precedes it. After such a deliberately constructed project of paranoia, shifting alliances and escalating stakes, the resolution feels rushed and unsatisfying. The ending does not fail outright, but it hints at deeper commentary on corruption without fully committing.
Stylistically, “The Rip” occasionally feels similar to other modern crime thrillers such as “Triple Frontier” and “Den of Thieves" (2018). While that familiarity makes the film accessible, it also prevents it from distinguishing itself from preceding movies. The film rarely takes risks, opting instead for a polished approach that prioritizes efficiency over a distinctive voice. Nevertheless, the film still works as a fast-paced, tense and easy to sink into flick. On “The Rip,” Carnahan understands the crime-thriller well and executes the core elements of a heist film, although never fully transcending them.
Overall, “The Rip” succeeds more often than it falters. It is enticing and entertaining, but a stronger film lingers just beneath the surface, within reach but not grasped by the director. The film could have been more impactful if it fully committed to its moral questions and spent more time exploring corruption’s emotional cost. For a fast, violent and high-energy thriller with strong leads, “The Rip” delivers — yet it never fully transforms its tension into something lasting.
