Netflix’s The Rip follows one of Hollywood’s most notable duos in Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, so you would be forgiven for thinking it might just escape the dreaded familiar tones of being a Netflix straight to video production. Unfortunately, it stumbles into far too frequent territory for these releases. The film is set at night, making way for that gritty colour grading that streaming services seem to dearly love, that will completely miss in most viewers homes. The dialogue is also recognizably awkward in parts, although surprisingly much akin to a teen Netflix show much more than another direct to video production. The dialogues insistence on resorting to slang that nobody actually uses is almost as jarring as the overuse of ‘fuck’, to the point where it is included in every second sentence from Matt Damon’s character in some scenes.
Apart from these issues, which seem almost inevitable at this point, the caliber of acting which we know is present here certainly elevates the plot and tension of the film. Following Miami Cops on a ‘Rip’ or a search for stashed money in homes, the discovery of a lot more cash than they bargained for creates a situation for Damon and Affleck. This consequently leads to conflict between them, where the longstanding friendship between the pair in real life keeps you much more interested in the dissension than you otherwise would be. Steven Yeun also manages this, bringing his usual charisma to a character that desperately needs it to remain tolerable.
The women are sidelined for the most part, unsurprising but also an ill timed underuse of Teyana Taylor, who just won a Golden Globe for her performance in One Battle After Another only a week prior. The critical reception to that film also highlights how the tides have turned with audiences on cop films (or similar federal authorities), wanting to see the perspective of a corrupt system from outside of it, rather than inside like we are presented with here. The Rip is a surprise in those regards, being simultaneously about the politics of the police system but also very forgettable in that aspect. To be clear, in this case it is a positive of the film, unless you are watching a documentary like The Perfect Neighbour, I don’t think anyone is particularly invested in Netflix’s views on this issue.
Perhaps the worst transgression of the film is its action sequences. An action movie and with the shootouts and car chases as easily the most uninteresting part of the film is just wrong, in every aspect. There’s a shootout in an enclosed space that just looks and sounds awful thanks to some machine guns (are cops supposed to even have machine guns?), and the end sequence is simply too long. Even at just under 2 hours, The Rip is a stretch, rendering much of the end grating, with not enough of an attachment to the characters to save it.
Despite all of this, The Rip’s insistence on breaching familiar territory will resonate with a lot of audiences, and the wealth of experience in this acting pool will no doubt draw them further in. With a January release date amongst the likes of Gerard Butler’s Greenland 2 and Jason Statham’s Shelter, it seems Netflix knows this too, and is happy to take a small win in the shadow of awards season.