‘The Rip’: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Are a Couple of Gritty Badges in Joe Carnahan’s Old School Cop Thriller

Alci Rengifo

Netflix’s “The Rip” is a feature film led by some big names, but it entertains like old-fashioned television. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck produce and star in this cop thriller without any pretension. The assignment here is to make a rugged movie with a twisty plot and macho dialogue, where mysterious stashes of cash lead to suspicions about potential snitches and drug cartels. Netflix loves to scoop up such premises and churn out quick-consumption products, no different than what basic cable channels were doing for decades. While it could be fun to watch on a big screen, “The Rip” makes perfect sense as a streaming option. 

The plot is set in Miami. On a rainy night, a cop named Jackie (Lina Esco) is murdered by masked assassins. The department starts looking for answers by questioning members of Jackie’s task force. Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon) gets brought in as well as Detective Sergeant JD Byrne (Affleck). JD in particular insists he’s clean and gets into a near brawl with his brother, an FBI agent. Dane and JD then get sidetracked by a tip Dane receives about a potential stash house where a cartel has money hidden. They arrive at the home along with fellow team members Mike Ro (Steven Yeun), Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor), and Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandino Moreno). The house’s owner, Desi (Sasha Calle) insists it is just her late grandmother’s home, nothing strange to it. Soon enough, the officers find about $20 million hidden in barrels in the attic. Dane instantly takes away everyone’s cell phones, claiming this kind of “rip” requires careful planning, especially since the original tip claimed the amount was much smaller. Is Dane, frustrated with police life, trying to steal the cash? A phone call also warns the cops to get out of there in 30 minutes or face an armed attack.

Director Joe Carnahan feels at home in the world of gritty movie cops and plots that turn into near puzzles. His previous credits include thrillers like “Copshop” and “Narc.” Under his direction, Affleck and Damon become the kind of weary-eyed badge men these stories require, just steps away from losing their tempers. Carnahan’s screenplay also uses one of the simplest, yet effective tools for thrillers involving an ensemble. When a group of people finds a vast amount of money, anything can happen. Tension builds out of the question of what might actually be going on here. Clues and paranoid hints are littered all around. Mike keeps pulling out a burner phone hidden in his bulletproof vest, texting information to someone. Desi claims she knows nothing about the money’s origins, as if she were just renting the attic out to strangers. It is a tough economy out there. Like a Don Winslow novel, there are the other layers of rugged police intrigue. JD was the lover of the murdered Jackie and might resent Dane for beating him to a promotion. Could he be behind something nefarious going on here? Dane tells him in an early scene that he is tired of being a cop, feeling at the end of his rope. Taking $20 million could mean a nice retirement plan. And why is there no one in this neighborhood? Mike suspects this is one of those areas rumored to be owned by a cartel.

The questions keep the movie suspenseful as well as the hard-edged performances. Affleck and Damon never fall into their more comedic personalities. They both truly sell their characters as toughened operators. The rest of the casting works on the same level. Teyana Taylor deserves more lines but chews the scenery when she can. Catalina Sandino Moreno gets a memorable scene where she looks at all this dirty money they need to count, allowing her mind to wander at how easy life would be with this amount of income. Carnahan even makes room for some meta commentary when Desi scoffs at the cops immediately suspecting she’s hiding drugs because she’s Colombian, lambasting their prejudiced assumptions. Not all of the writing rises to this level and there are plenty of cliché exchanges using tough police lingo, with the men always seeming to look sweaty while sporting big guns. 

“The Rip” also runs a bit too long at 130 minutes, though they feel forgivable when Carnahan stages a suspenseful climax where everything comes together. A car chase and shootout that resolve most of the plot are pulled off with classic action skill that will be appreciated by fans of this genre. More importantly, the action at the end does not feel needless and flows with all the big reveals and confessions by the true guilty parties. Now in their 50s, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck might be entering that stage of becoming middle-aged action leads. It can be like getting two Liam Neesons for the price of one. Here, they are not seeking to reinvent the wheel or reach for awards acclaim. “The Rip” is, in a good way, simple entertainment, which is never easy to do well. A good case is opened and the payoff satisfies.

“The Rip” begins streaming Jan. 16 on Netflix.