After all these years, it's nice to see Matt Damon and Ben Affleck still collaborating, most recently on the star-studded Air. Now, they star in the new Netflix crime thriller, The Rip, as partners in [solving] crime.
Their first notable collaboration, Good Will Hunting, certainly set the bar high after they won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Since then, they have produced countless projects, including Kiss the Future, about U2's Sarajevo concert in 1997, and, more recently, The Accountant 2.
They are a powerhouse, and it's even better when they share the screen together. It's one thing for them to work behind the camera; it's another to see them reunited on screen.
In The Rip, they play two Miami cops, Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Matt Damon) and Detective Sergeant JD Byrne (Ben Affleck). The rest of the cast is star-studded, including the likes of Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, and Kyle Chandler.
The presence of Damon and Affleck elevates The Rip beyond its script. Joe Carnahan wrote and directed the movie, but it would fail to leave a mark if not for its lead actors.
The Rip review
The Rip opens with the murder of Jackie Velez (Lina Esco), the captain of the force. Shortly after, Dumars enlists his team's help to answer a tip for a large sum of money.
However, upon investigating a house, which is owned by Desi (Sasha Calle), they realize there is a lot more money than they anticipated.
Naturally, tensions rise, as paranoia does amongst the team. It doesn't appear they are all as trustworthy as they think, especially once third parties start getting involved.
Matt Damon, Ben Affleck's friendship elevates the movie
As noted, having Damon and Affleck, not only as producers but as stars of The Rip, goes a long way for the movie. By no means are they flawless, but they always bring out the best in each other when they share the screen.
This could be said of most of their past projects, even Air, in which they don't share much screentime. There's something about their dynamic that always works.
While they don't play brothers in The Rip, they may as well be. The two have the “good cop-bad cop” thing down pat, which is especially clear in their interrogation of Desi.
The characters have a pre-established relationship that dates back before the events of the movie. So, having real-life best friends like Damon and Affleck helps it feel real, even if the movie doesn't do them any favors.
It's clear that they enjoy working together, and they should continue to. Maybe next time they can do something better — just look at their performances in The Last Duel and Air.
The rest of the ensemble doesn't get as much attention. Steven Yeun is an amazing actor, but he feels lost in The Rip. Teyana Taylor just had her breakthrough in One Battle After Another, and even she feels underutilized. Sasha Calle may be the only supporting character who gets any sort of spotlight.
The direction is uninspiring
However, they cannot fully rectify The Rip's wrongdoings. There's a lot of intrigue, as it is based on a true story, but Joe Carnahan's uninspiring direction nearly wastes it. He attempts to add some flair to the action, but that comes by way of a dizzying amount of shaking of the camera.
The lighting also stinks in the movie. While most of The Rip takes place at night, there's no excuse for certain things being indistinguishable because of the dark lighting.
It's something that plagued his last project, Not Without Hope, which came out just a month ago. That survival thriller similarly mostly took place at night, and things were indistinguishable.
Should you watch The Rip?
The Rip is marketable because of Damon and Affleck's latest team-up. However, it's barely passable as an action-thriller. While based on true events, it lacks the nuance of other thrillers Damon and Affleck have made.
Damon and Affleck are like a legendary band. How can they continue to reinvent themselves decades into their collaborative relationship? It seems they are still figuring that out.
Perhaps their best ideas are behind them (Air suggested differently), or they need to be more selective with their future projects, because without them, The Rip would just be another January movie.
Before the streaming age, January used to be the month where studios would dump their least-inspiring projects. Affleck has previously starred in his fair share of those kinds of movies, but he has become so selective in recent years.
Maybe that's what makes The Rip so disappointing. It's not that it's bad — unremarkable is a better word — but it's well below what Affleck and Damon are capable of, especially nowadays.
Grade: C+
The Rip will be available to stream on Netflix on Jan. 16.
