Film Review: The Rip 全信沒收 (2026) - USA
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critic Circle of Australia)
I rated it 7/10
Rating: ★ ★ ★ 1/2
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A Familiar Siege, Elevated by Brotherhood - Director Joe Carnahan’s “The Rip” arrives on Netflix not with a revolutionary bang, but with the satisfying, well-oiled click of a shotgun being racked. It’s a film that knows its place – firmly within the sweat-stained confines of the cops-in-a-pressure-cooker genre – and executes its duties with a brash, cocksure professionalism that’s increasingly rare. While it won’t rewrite the playbook, it earns its stripes, and its rating, primarily through the effortless, lived-in chemistry of its stars, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. This is a damn good, tightly wound thriller, a superior piece of streaming fare offering old-school, gritty tension that feels almost luxurious in today’s digital landscape.
The setup is pure genre boilerplate, albeit inspired by the messy truth of a 2016 Miami drug bust. Damon and Affleck play world-weary Miami-Dade detectives leading a Tactical Narcotics Team (TNT) raid. What begins as routine explodes into claustrophobic chaos when they discover $20 million in cash hidden in a stash house attic. Suddenly, the hunters become the hunted, trapped inside with a terrified occupant (Sasha Calle, projecting striking presence and clammy fear) while unseen forces close in. Carnahan, a maestro of muscular mayhem, handles this shift masterfully, ratcheting up the paranoia until the walls feel like they’re sweating.
But the film’s true engine, its beating heart amidst the gunfire, is the reunion of “Mattfleck." Damon and Affleck don’t just act together; they inhabit a shared history, a weary brotherhood forged in countless back alleys and bad decisions. Their natural rapport is the film's greatest special effect. Even the most expository dialogue about procedure or past busts feels grounded, authentic, tinged with a mutual respect and unspoken understanding that only decades of friendship (on and off-screen) can provide. They make you believe in these tired, competent men caught in an impossible vise.
Carnahan populates the edges with strong talent. Steven Yeun is a standout as Detective Mike Ro, delivering a performance simmering with nuance that cleverly keeps us guessing about loyalties. Sasha Calle makes the most of her limited, terrified role. It’s a genuine shame, then, that the promising starts from Teyana Taylor and Catalina Sandino Moreno are largely abandoned as the film plunges headlong into its testosterone-heavy second half – an unfortunate retreat into convention.
And convention is where “The Rip” occasionally stumbles. While the tension is expertly crafted, the central "who-is-the-traitor" mystery unfolds with a predictability that rarely surprises. The final twists feel less like revelations and more like dutiful checkmarks on a genre to-do list, landing as "safe" rather than shocking. Furthermore, the intricate psychological cat-and-mouse of the first two acts gives way in the third to generic final action sequences – competent, brutal, recalling the practical stunts and hand-to-hand combat of '90s cinema, but undeniably rushed and bland compared to the carefully built dread that preceded them.
So, what are we left with? A powerhouse acting duo reminding us why they became stars, a director in confident command of suspenseful mechanics, a plot that’s engaging yet familiar – a serviceable yet forgettable popcorn movie elevated significantly by its central performances. The action satisfies on a visceral level, even if the climax lacks narrative ingenuity.
“The Rip” won’t linger long in the memory as a groundbreaking work. But as a four-beers-in watch on a Friday night? It delivers precisely what it promises: a satisfyingly hyper-kinetic avalanche of action built on the solid rock of authentic camaraderie. Sometimes, familiar, executed with this much swagger and heart, is exactly what you need. It’s a solid B-movie success. (Neo, 2026)