The Rip (2026)

Long-time friends and collaborates Matt Damon and Ben Affleck reunite for a straight to Netflix cop thriller that throws a bit of Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), some of End of Watch (2012) and a smattering of Training Day (2001) into the pot, with a real mix of results. Damon plays Dane, a Miami officer who is given a tip off about a stash of cash. Along with his team comprising of Affleck's JD, Teyanna Taylor, Steven Yeun and Catalina Sandino Moreno, they descend on the house that supposedly holds the loot. Once they arrive they discover that instead of the couple of hundred thousand dollars they expected to find, there's over $20 million hidden in the attic. The team must transport the money to safety once its been counted, but we all know it's not that simple. Who can be trusted with such an obscene amount of money, and at the same time, who wants to mess with the cartel, who we assume are behind the stash. Joe Carnahan directs something here that couldn't be more in his comfort zone. His directorial filmography is patchy, but in that back catalogue is Narc (2002), a gritty, raw and impressive cop thriller in which two detectives investigate the murder of an undercover officer. The Rip also has a similar through line; it opens with a female officer being brutally murdered, who we learn was part of Dane and JD's team. This is a film that, twenty years ago, you'd have been enjoying on the big screen on a Friday night; sadly these days, this is what we're reduced to. It's great that we get to see Damon and Affleck on the screen together, it's just a shame it's a TV screen. But then again, I suppose it's better than not having it at all. Or is it? For the most part The Rip races along at top speed, and you're in such good hands with the cast that you can forgive some of the flaws. Damon and Affleck especially, bounce off each other wonderfully as you'd expect but the rest of the cast are equally effective. I went into The Rip knowing very little, and that might be the best way to approach it. Once the team are in the house interrogating the one young woman who's completely alone in a suspicious looking huge house, we know it's all going to go wrong. It briefly threatens to move into a siege thriller, but then swiftly moves into something more interesting before plodding to its finish. It's entertaining while it's in front of you, aided by the cast who sell you the characters, but The Rip needs to be a ninety minute thrillers; at nearly two hours it really outstays its welcome, especially the climax which goes on for far too long. You're genuinely involved in the story and curious about who's legitimate and who's not, but it remains a curiosity rather than a need. In the end everyone involved can- and has done- a lot better. But, you could do worse with a straight to Netflix thriller on a Friday night. It's just a question of whether you think this is a B-movie enhanced by the presence of Damon and Affleck, or an A-lister that isn't really good enough. 6.4/10