'The Rip' is kinda why streaming exists
Netflix
“The Rip” is nothing you haven’t seen before, and you won’t care. The concept of streaming, beyond any of the reasons you might not want to go to the movie theater and the accessibility of having everything a click away and so forth, hinges on certain movies that can be enjoyed just fine from your couch. Maybe their ambitions only go so far. But, wait, that sounds negative; in fact, “The Rip” reminds that there is a place for a modestly sized action movie in which no cars fly into helicopters or tanks fall off of skyscrapers or explosions wait just long enough for a Kevin Hart one-liner.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck star as Boston cops (actually, it’s Miami, but come on) who have been good pals for years (yes) and now, following the murder of a colleague who was dating J.D. (Affleck), are particularly curious if there are dirty cops swiping dirty money from houses that may or may not be affiliated with cartels. Is Dane (Damon), who happens to be broke and understandably spiraling after the loss of his son and end of his marriage, somehow involved? What about the rest of the team (a great cast including Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor and Catalina Sandino Moreno), who can’t all possibly be on the up and up, can they?
“The Rip” is a fastball down the middle, hit for a stand-up double. Director/co-writer Joe Carnahan (“The Grey,” “The A-Team”) fortunately avoids the obnoxiousness of junk like “Smokin’ Aces” and instead commits to a tight situation almost unfolding in real time. He finds the sweet spot between diving right in and giving your mind something to work out, even though surprises won’t be in abundance for anyone who’s seen a movie like this before. Which is probably most who’d have an interest in the first place.
Obviously no one’s going to bump “Good Will Hunting” or “School Ties” or even “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” from the list of Damon/Affleck collaborations to make room for “The Rip” (whose title is repeated a few too many times out loud). The dialogue’s better than you expected but the action isn’t, and ultimately the story deflates instead of evolving. But there’s something satisfying about a movie that doesn’t overdo it, doesn’t overstay its welcome, and when someone asks how it is, you can just say “Good” and leave it at that.
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