The Rip (2026) Review: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Deliver a Taut, Old-School Crime Thriller for Netflix

The Rip, now streaming on Netflix, is a hard-edged return to classic American crime cinema—one built on mistrust, moral rot, and the pressure-cooker intensity of cops trapped by their own choices. Written and directed by Joe Carnahan, the 2026 action thriller reunites Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in a story that strips the badge of its shine and asks a brutal question: what happens when the people enforcing the law stop trusting each other?

Released on January 16, 2026, The Rip doesn’t chase spectacle for its own sake. Instead, it leans into tension, character, and the slow realization that survival may depend on betrayal.

A Simple Setup That Turns Toxic Fast

The premise is deceptively straightforward. After the murder of Miami-Dade Police Captain Jackie Velez, suspicion begins circling her elite Tactical Narcotics Team. Acting on a tip, Lieutenant Dane Dumars leads his unit to a stash house in Hialeah—where they discover $20 million in cartel cash hidden in the attic.

From there, everything fractures.

Dumars breaks protocol. Phones are confiscated. Numbers don’t line up. Each officer is told a different amount of money. And as night closes in, it becomes painfully clear that the real danger isn’t the cartel—it’s the people standing in the room.

Joe Carnahan stretches this single-night scenario into a nerve-wracking morality play, where every decision compounds the risk, and every silence feels loaded.

Damon and Affleck: Trust as the Real Battlefield

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck play Miami cops whose partnership is tested under extreme pressure. Their chemistry is effortless, not flashy—rooted in a long history rather than showy banter.

This isn’t Good Will Hunting nostalgia or crowd-pleasing reunion energy. Carnahan uses their familiarity to weaponize doubt.

When trust breaks between them, it hurts because it feels earned.

Their performances anchor the film emotionally, even as the plot grows increasingly paranoid and violent.

A Cast That Elevates the Tension

The supporting cast adds texture and volatility:

• Steven Yeun brings quiet intensity

• Kyle Chandler delivers restrained authority

• Teyana Taylor adds sharp-edged presence

• Sasha Calle and Catalina Sandino Moreno deepen the film’s emotional stakes

No one feels like filler. Every character exists to complicate the moral equation.

Carnahan’s Love Letter to ’70s Cop Cinema

Joe Carnahan has been open about his inspiration, citing films like Serpico, Prince of the City, and Heat. That influence is all over The Rip—not in imitation, but in spirit.

This is a movie that:

• Values character over twists

• Lets tension breathe

• Treats corruption as systemic, not sensational

The violence, when it arrives, is abrupt and ugly. The action isn’t glamorous—it’s desperate.

Carnahan’s direction is confident, muscular, and refreshingly uninterested in spoon-feeding the audience.

What “The Rip” Really Means

The title isn’t metaphorical. In Miami police slang, “the rip” refers to the act of confiscating illegal goods—money, drugs, weapons. But the film twists that meaning.

By the end, everyone is ripping something:

• Trust

• Loyalty

• The truth

• Their own moral boundaries

What starts as a financial seizure becomes a spiritual one.

Netflix Crime Thriller, but With Teeth

While Netflix is crowded with crime content, The Rip stands apart because it doesn’t feel algorithm-built. It feels authored. The pacing is deliberate. The dialogue is sharp without being cute. And the ending resists easy catharsis.

This isn’t a “turn-your-brain-off” thriller. It wants to make you uneasy.

The Rip is a lean, muscular crime thriller that understands what made classic cop movies endure: flawed people, impossible choices, and consequences that stick.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s reunion works not because it’s nostalgic, but because it’s restrained. Joe Carnahan delivers one of his most focused films to date, and Netflix quietly adds one of its strongest adult thrillers in years.

This one doesn’t beg for attention. It earns it.