The Rip info:
Director: Joe Carnahan
Writer: Joe Carnahan and Michael McGrale
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Steven Yeun, and Teyana Taylor
Intro
Hello and welcome to another week here at 1guysmindlessmoviereviews.com. Unfortunately, where I am, there is still a lot of bitter cold and lots of snow everywhere. With no end in sight, this is the perfect time of the year to stay inside where it’s warm and watch a movie or two. We were snowed in for a few days, then other than work, I didn’t want to get out. Luckily, Netflix had a new movie released that I really wanted to see, which gave me a movie theater sort of vibe.
Honestly, with the star power “The Rip” had, it could have been a big-budget wide-release and made some money. Any time Matt Damon and Ben Affleck do a project together, it’s going to be worth watching. This is a film that has a lot of information it throws at you, so we have lots to discuss. Before I do, let’s get to the spoiler warning. If you haven’t seen this yet and don’t want to be spoiled, then head over to my reviews page here and see what else I have in store for you.
The Rip recap
“The Rip” was both written and directed by Joe Canahan. As you can see here, he has a very interesting portfolio of both directing credits and writing credits as well. I think this one fits exactly into his wheelhouse. Starring Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars and Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne, it is based on a true story. The fact that it is based on true events is both shocking and not surprising to me at the same time.
After the death of their Captain, Dumars takes his team with him to check out an anonymous tip about a potential stash of money. Led by Dumars, the team consists of J.D., Detective Mike Ro (Yeun), Detective Numa Baptiste (Taylor), and Detective Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandino Moreno). When they arrive at the house, the only person there is Desi (Sasha Calle), and she claims to know nothing about it. What they find there is truly amazing. With over 20 million in cash hidden in the attic, the rip was set to be the biggest in history.
This is where “The Rip” really starts to pick up and get interesting. Since Dumars had told each person on the job a different amount, we, as an audience, started to wonder what he was up to. The suspicion only grows as more things start to point to Dumars trying to steal the rip. Tensions rise, and tempers start to flare as we are slowly shown more details as to what is going on.
In the end, Det. Ro is the one who was trying to take the money. With the help of DEA Agent Nix (Kyle Chandler), they thought they had it all set up. Not only were they trying to steal that 20 million in cash, but they were also behind the death of the Captain. Dumars ends up chasing down Ro as J.D. puts an end to Nix. All the money is returned, the bad cops were weeded out, and even Desi got some help at the end.
My thoughts
So, there’s definitely a lot going on here. I will most assuredly need a second watch to see what I might have missed. Sometimes the story gets a little convoluted, and sometimes it moves a little bit fast. Not in a bad way, but you just need to pay attention to everything that is going on so nothing slips past. Maybe this is what I get for watching part of it on my phone on the treadmill. Det. Ro hiding a cellphone should have been a clue that something was up, but with Dumars holding all the suspicion, it’s easy to overlook it. The movie did a good job of back-filling a lot of open questions at the end, but I feel like there are still some that did not get answered.
Damon and Affleck are great together once again. The on-screen duo does a good job when they are working together, but an even better job at acting like they’re not. It was certainly enough to fool both Ro and Nix in the end. It’s too bad we didn’t see more of Det. Baptiste and Det. Salazar. I think they could have added to the multiple levels that “The Rip” currently has going. But in the end, they played their parts exactly like they needed to be played, I guess.
Overall, this was a fun movie with a great cast. I do feel like the story could have been fleshed out a little bit better. Maybe even make it not so complex for some users, so they wouldn’t have any trouble following along. Again, after a re-watch, I may feel differently, but I also have questions about the cartel’s interactions with the police. If they weren’t involved… then whose money was it? Why was there a cartel dude in the neighborhood helping out J.D.? That is the stuff I would like to know more about. This was an enjoyable movie, but there were lots of areas where it could have improved. Because of that, I give this a 7 out of 10.
Watch or Wait?
Well, since “The Rip” is only available to watch on Netflix right now, you don’t really have a choice, do you? However, even with that knowledge, this is still fun enough to check out right now if you have the time or subscribe to Netflix.
Ok, that’s it for me this week. Now it’s your turn. Have you seen “The Rip” yet? If so, what are your thoughts? Do you enjoy seeing Damon and Affleck together on your screen again? Did you think the movie was too complex or had too much going on? Let me know in the comments below. I will be back in the theaters next week, which means I will bring you another mindless movie review of some sort then. Everyone, stay safe and warm.
