Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s The Rip Delivers Record-Breaking Debut for Netflix

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck teaming up on screen again? Yeah, that’s usually a recipe for a big streaming party, and this time is no different. Their new action thriller The Rip just dropped on Netflix and, as expected, it's landed at the very top of the charts. Apparently, over 41 million people hit 'play' in the first week, racking up more than 78 million hours watched—which, for Netflix, basically means 'massive hit.' Not bad considering the last time numbers went off like this was with 'Happy Gilmore 2' last summer. (Make of that what you will.)

So, what is 'The Rip' actually about?

At its core, 'The Rip' is a gritty cop thriller riffing on distrust, dirty money, and the kind of close-quarters tension you only get when everyone’s stuck in a high-stakes heist. Damon plays Lieutenant Dane Dumars, while Affleck is Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne. Their Tactical Narcotics Team gets a lead on a cartel stash house and, naturally, things get messy in a hurry. The plot centers around 'the rip'—cop slang for when the police seize a criminal's assets, in this case, a sprawling $20 million payday. But since every last dollar has to be counted before anyone can leave, you can bet the suspicion and paranoia inside the team escalates fast.

For a pulpy, boots-on-the-ground crime film, you kind of expect a solid ensemble, and this cast delivers:

• Steven Yeun ('Invincible')
• Teyana Taylor ('One Battle After Another')
• Sasha Calle ('The Flash')
• Catalina Sandino Moreno ('From')
• Scott Adkins ('John Wick: Chapter 4')
• Kyle Chandler ('Lanterns')
• Néstor Carbonell ('Lost')

Carnahan brings the chaos (in a good way!)

Directing this punchy, tense setup is Joe Carnahan—the same guy who made 'Narc' back in the early 2000s, so the dude knows his way around scrappy crime-story energy. There’s a lot of love for Carnahan’s style, and for good reason: 'The Rip' doesn’t skimp on action. Affleck gets what sounds like a wild car chase/gunfight set piece, and Damon even has a legit hand-to-hand brawl that, not gonna lie, proves he’s still got some serious Bourne-level fight moves left in the tank.

Chris Bumbray, who's been on the Carnahan train for decades, summed it all up like this:

'All in all, it adds up to an absolutely killer action flick that I had a blast with. It’s a shame Netflix hasn’t given this one a theatrical release, as it would kill on a big screen, but even so, it should be a huge hit for the streamer, featuring Matt and Ben at their best.'

And honestly, who doesn’t want to see Damon and Affleck going toe-to-toe inside a cartel house, especially with Carnahan throwing visual elbow drops from behind the camera?

Final thoughts

All told, 'The Rip' is off to exactly the kind of start you’d expect when two Oscar winners get a script full of shootouts, suspicion, and piles of cash. Even if you're just here for the Damon vs. Affleck bromance and not for the gritty crime plot, it’s worth a couple hours on your Netflix queue. Now if only Netflix would put it in theaters so we could see those action set pieces with real surround sound... but that's another rant for another time.