Matt Damon explains to USA TODAY why he wore a "Be Good" pin to the premiere of his new Netflix film, "The Rip."
- Action thriller "The Rip" streams Friday, Jan. 16, on Netflix.
- Matt Damon and Ben Affleck star as Miami cops faced with moral questions when they find a heap of cash.
- Teyana Taylor (fresh off her Golden Globes win!) and Kyle Chandler also star.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are such best friends that, when they throw down in "The Rip," it's like watching your mom and dad fight - albeit with more macho swagger and icy man-glares.
Their on-screen conflict fuels the chaos and distrust when a group of Miami cops are faced with moral questions and a ton of cash in the cop thriller (★★★ out of four; rated R; streaming on Netflix Jan. 16), cowritten and directed by Joe Carnahan ("Narc," "The A-Team"). Damon and Affleck lead a starry action vehicle - including Golden Globe winner Teyana Taylor - that, even with some plot issues and an overbearing intensity, is way better than most straight-to-Netflix potboilers.
Dane (Damon) and J.D. (Affleck) are part of a tactical narcotics team that, among its various duties, seizes money and drugs at cartel stash houses. But morale is shaky: There's talk of internal corruption involving dirty police officers, and the feds are giving them side-eye, wondering if one of them was responsible for the murder of their captain (Lina Esco). Not to mention Dane getting a promotion that was supposed to be J.D.'s, Dane still grieving his 10-year-old son's recent death, and everybody is feeling a pinch, professionally and/or financially.
When Dane gets a tip for a cash seizure, he rounds up the squad - including fellow detectives Numa (Taylor), Lolo (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and Mike (Steven Yeun) - to get a needed win before the weekend. They find a young woman there named Desi (Sasha Calle), saying that it's her late grandmother's place. Instead of finding a "rip" with a couple hundred thousand they were expecting, Dane’s crew discovers hidden buckets containing a cool $20 million.
Dane isn’t really sure what to do in this situation and closes ranks because of it: When they need to count an excessive amount of cash, he goes, “It’ll be so much easier if we just stole this money.” Everybody laughs it off as a joke to relieve the stress, but J.D. doesn’t find it funny. Close-knit bonds begin to unravel during the night as they wonder how the cash could change their lives, weigh their values versus the financial gain, and question one another’s motives and actions.
J.D.’s DEA agent buddy Matty (Kyle Chandler) gets involved and adds more mayhem to the mix, as do shady local police, cartel members and, naturally, the secret baddies who reveal themselves in the breakneck climax.
Carnahan doesn’t make boring movies, and here the intrigue is relentless from the start. "The Rip" gets loud and overly straightforward in the action near the end, but for the most part the director nimbly juggles the various mysteries and crafts nicely complex characters. Taylor, Moreno and Calle especially stand out in scenes exploring the important themes of what’s right for the greater good versus what’s right for the individual, while a tornado of testosterone roils around them.
Though Damon and Affleck are proven action heroes in their own right, their shared history as longtime pop-culture buds adds a nice nuance to their friendship and friction in the film. Dane is a raw nerve, and he’s hard to read given his stoic nature. J.D. is a hot-tempered guy who brawls with anyone and everyone, including his federal agent little brother (Scott Adkins).
As much as fun as it is to watch them butt heads, it’s that much more satisfying when the pals are working together in a thriller that offers an explosive start to the action-movie year. In short, it rips.
How to watch 'The Rip'
"The Rip," starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, streams on Netflix Jan. 16. The action thriller is rated R by the Motion Picture Association "for violence and pervasive language."