"The Rip" (Netflix) Review: Can't Deny Damon & Affleck
- RT - 🍅 81%***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The story picks up after the mysterious murder of Miami-Dade TNT (Tactical Narcotics Team) Captain Jackie Valez (Lina Esco) by two mysterious men wearing ski masks. Dana Dumars (Damon), now lieutenant of the despondent team, along with longtime friend Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne (Affleck), are being questioned along with the rest of the team by the FBI, who strongly believe that Jackie was a dirty cop. If news of her being dirty gets out, this might spell the end of the TNT for good with the new budget cuts to the department.
After hours of questioning, Dana gets a tip on his phone about a possible drophouse location suspected to have lots of cash. He rallies his team to go and investigate, where they discover that there is quite a lot more money than they had anticipated. Now, the team who has been struggling to make ends meet, must decide what is more important: their jobs, or their lives? With crooked cops around every corner, and the drug cartel buying up properties all over Hialeah and Miami-Dade, the line in the sand is drawn, and ethics are brought into question.
You spend the entire time thinking that Dana is the one bending the ethics code. You even think he is the one that killed Jackie. After all, his son had died a few years prior, and with all the budget cuts, he certainly needs the money. But soon, you realize that the corruption goes way higher, and the ending twist really really took me for a surprise, in a good way. I found the end to be quite satisfying as a viewer, albeit a little predictable.
Written and directed by Joe Carnahan (Bad Boys for Life, Smokin' Aces, The A-Team), this film is based on a true story from the set of Bad Boys for Life. Chris Casiano, a real Miami police officer working on-set as a technical advisor, told Carnahan a story from his time working on a similar task force, where they raided the home of Luis Hernandez-Gonzalez. This raid led to the biggest cash bust in the history of the Miami-Dade police department.
This film is a roller coaster of energy. While the story seems quite formulaic, as most Netflix movies seem to be, it grounds itself in reality with very nuanced performances from its stellar cast. I must say, there were moments where I definitely picked up my phone and started scrolling, as it seemed to be taking quite a long time for the other shoe to drop. But once it did, it hits you with a twist that I didn't see coming.
I have to also be honest: I did not give this movie much of a chance when I turned it on. Typically, I don't usually go for the formulaic cop movies. But you can't deny the chemistry of the two leads, Affleck and Damon. Since they burst onto the scene in 1997 with Good Will Hunting, they have had such amazing solo careers that you almost forget they grew up together. This movie reminds us that you can take the guys out of Boston, but you can't take the Boston out of the guys. Their offscreen friendship helped ground this movie, and made it very easy to fall in love with the whole team, akin to Jordan and Pippen on the Chicago Bulls.
In this Oscar season, if you just need a good buddy cop action flick to sit back and enjoy, then this movie is perfect for you.
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