Ben Affleck isn’t an actor who’s known for disappearing into roles, but he pulls it off in The Rip, a Netflix urban cop corruption thriller set in Miami that owes a lot more to the Den of Thieves movies than to either incarnation of Michael Mann’s Miami Vice.
Writer/director Joe Carnahan, an expert of this genre who’s become a journeyman, has made his best film in years, setting up an intriguing premise and then selling it. Carnahan’s most prominent credits include Smokin’ Aces, The Grey, and Narc, although his last few credits were the likes of Copshop, Shadow Force, and the faith-based drama Not Without Hope; raise your hand if you remember a single thing about any of those films. The Rip is the first film he’s made in a while with big stars, and he takes advantage of the opportunity.
Frequent co-stars Affleck and Matt Damon team up again, although they’re pretty far from their Boston home, where, in addition to Good Will Hunting, they’d both starred in notable crime thrillers, Affleck in The Town and Damon in The Departed. While set in Miami, The Rip was shot mostly in Los Angeles, although the majority of its scenes are set either indoors or outdoors at night, and there’s not the occasion for much city scenery. In The Rip, they play cops who, not long after their female colleague is mysteriously gunned down, they get a tip that a drug house contains a massive stash of cash.
The tension builds up as the cops wonder who they can trust, and whether some of their colleagues might be dirty and after the money. Also, someone’s calling and threatening them, who may have been connected to the possibly cartel-instigated murder of their colleague. It leads up to the film’s centerpiece scene, with four of the cops together in an armored truck, along with their guns and the money.
I was impressed with Affleck, as a guy not playing a typical Ben Affleck role; it reminded me of another Netflix movie he starred in, Triple Frontier, which also entailed the discovery of a larger-than-expected stash of money. It doesn’t hurt that the cast, even in small roles, is first-rate. Steven Yeun and Teyana Taylor, play cops, as does Catalina Sandino Moreno, from Maria Full of Grace. Kyle Chandler shows up, as does Scott Adkins as Affleck’s FBI agent brother.
The Rip, which is far beyond the usual Netflix crap, likely owes its existence to the success of Den of Thieves, another film about cops, criminals, and betrayal.