Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Deliver Thrills in Joe Carnahan’s Riveting Action Hit The Rip

Alright, if you like your cop thrillers messy, intense, and unapologetically gritty—not to mention stacked with A-list talent—'The Rip' is probably going to be your new obsession. This is the latest wild ride from director Joe Carnahan, and, surprisingly, it’s his biggest project since 'The A-Team'. Yeah, this one’s got the Netflix money behind it and yes, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are front and center. But don’t let that fool you into thinking Carnahan’s gone soft. If anything, he leans even harder into the raw, unpredictable energy that made 'NARC' so memorable back in the day.

What You’re Getting Into: The Plot

The setup is classic crime-movie bait: Five members of Miami’s Tactical Narcotics Unit—played by Damon, Affleck, Teyana Taylor, Steven Yeun, and Catalina Sandino Moreno—are still reeling from their captain’s recent murder when they get a hot tip. There’s a stash house in town, supposedly lightly guarded, holding what sounds like easy money. Turns out, it’s way more than just pocket change. We’re talking over $20 million in drug cash. And here’s where things get messy: Someone on this elite team might be looking to cash out in a way that involves more than just overtime pay.

Why Carnahan’s Still Carnahan (Even with Big Stars)

Most directors who graduate from making indie gems to commanding studio blockbusters tend to sand off the rough edges. Not Carnahan. He’s got two of Hollywood’s biggest names in the movie, but this never feels like a by-the-numbers buddy cop flick. In fact, even though Affleck and Damon are famous for their bromance, here they’re often at odds. That’s one of the boldest moves in the movie: you know these two have chemistry, but Carnahan keeps their characters just enough at each other’s throats to keep the tension legit.

It’s also worth noting that the film’s supposedly 'inspired by a true story'—I mean, which part, exactly? Who knows (or cares)? It gives Carnahan an excuse to ground the chaos in some real-world fallout. He doesn’t let his characters off the hook, either. You actually feel the consequences: every bad call, every punch, every bullet comes with a price, and by the end, almost everybody is worse for wear.

The Cast: More Than Just Matt and Ben (But, Yeah, They’re Great)

• Matt Damon: He’s the new team leader, dealing with more baggage than a lost luggage office—burned out on police politics, destroyed by the death of his young son from cancer, and crushed under medical debt (amazing how American that detail feels). Damon tends to play guys who somehow keep it together, so watching him barely keep his head above water here hits different.
• Ben Affleck: Damon’s right-hand man—or maybe his competition, depending on the scene. Affleck’s lost something too, but seems maddeningly committed to police life, even as that world closes in around him. Where Damon crumbles, Affleck pushes harder, and that dynamic drives a good chunk of the movie’s unpredictability.
• Scott Adkins: Affleck’s brother, but this time he’s an FBI agent and, weirdly, he keeps his fists to himself. No endless martial arts show-off scenes—which is kind of a shock if you’ve seen, well, his entire resume.
• Kyle Chandler: Usually a beacon of All-American dadness, but here he’s a sweaty, aggressive DEA agent who feels out of place for all the right reasons.
• Teyana Taylor and Catalina Sandino Moreno: Both pack a punch as street-smart, experienced unit members. As you might expect, nobody’s entirely safe or trustworthy.
• Steven Yeun: The guy on the squad who’s always the odd one out, which is saying something for a group this dysfunctional.
• Sasha Calle: Last seen in flashy superhero gear ('The Flash') but here she’s the stash house operator, and her motives are just as shifty as everybody else’s.

No Heroes, Only Trouble

What really stands out here is how Carnahan refuses to color inside the lines—don’t get comfortable thinking you know who the 'good guys' are. Characters you think are safe get knocked off when you least expect it. (Worth remembering: Carnahan once gleefully reminded an interviewer he killed off Affleck fifteen minutes into 'Smokin' Aces'. The man plays for keeps.)

There’s plenty of carnage to go around, too. You get a huge gun/bullet/car-smashing chase for Affleck, plus Damon breaking out some surprisingly spicy hand-to-hand stuff—apparently all those years as Jason Bourne pay off, with Damon still looking like he could run the Boston Marathon while fighting crime.

Should You Watch It?

In short: Absolutely. The Rip takes damn near everything you want from a gritty police thriller and cranks it up. It’s a shame Netflix isn’t giving it the kind of theatrical release that lets you feel the gunfire in your bones, but even streaming at home, it delivers. The script lets Damon and Affleck do things you don’t expect, the violence doesn’t feel weightless, and the rest of the cast feels like they belong in the same cracked mirror universe.

'All in all, it adds up to an absolutely killer action flick that I had a blast with. It should be a huge hit for the streamer, featuring Matt and Ben at their best.'

That pretty much sums it up. If you miss hard-hitting, tight and unpredictable crime thrillers—and you want to see Matt and Ben actually make each other sweat—queue this up.