304, The Rip

By my count, The Rip is the 15th collaboration with Ben Affleck & Matt Damon, who started out as best friends in Boston aged 8 & 10 respectively and went on to form one of Hollywoods most successful partnerships.  As a pair they have covered Dramas, Action & Sports movies as well as individually being superheroes, assassins & uncredited baseball players but there is no denying that when together, we always see the sum of their best work.

The Rip is no different.  A Gritty Miami Cop Drama that see our two headline acts making up part of a TNT (Tactical Narcotics Team), led by Damon with a rag tag bunch of hard hitting cops all ready to jump at a moments notice.  

For context, The 'Rip' is a term given to either a cash or drugs seizure - the bigger the Rip - the more prestigious the accolade.  The opening scenes show us the gunning down of the then TNT Captain, Velez, played by TV's S.W.A.T regular Lina Esco (Chris) and for me, a much underused cast member in this as S.W.A.T definitely took a down turn once she, a few of the originals left in the closing seasons.

Post murder, the subsequent questioning of her team led by FBI officers (with a lovely little twist) allows tempers to flare with some of the questions and potential accusations that start flying around.  

These interviews are cut seamlessly into flashback visuals of Cpt. Velez last moments, where just before her murder, she manages to get a text message sent (saying what and to whom will become evident later), but after a quick 1st Act of getting to know everyone and learning all you need to know about each of the TNT members personal stories, we are thrown into the main elements of the movie.  

After receiving a tip about a cash house, our team descends on said location to investigate, discovering a pretty hefty sum of stashed Cartel cash but it's very clear that the motives behind what they should do with the cash are split between the team and we enter into a tense 40 minute middle act of mistrust, tested loyalties and some quick fire action that leaves even the most astute audience members still wondering who is on the right side of the law and who isn't.

After some pretty strong and violent clashes within the team - backup arrives and the cash is offloaded but even then, something just isn't quite right and with 20 minutes to go there are a few twists and turns still remaining but let's just say, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Comparing it to other Miami Cop Dramas such as Bad Boys and Miami Vice, this I'd say sits firmly in the middle.  It's not as dark and moody as Vice, but not as bubbly and colourful as Bad Boys and with the action taking place outside the bright lights of the City - could really have been set anywhere.

Damon and Affleck are on top form as are other familiar faces such as a fleeting early appearance from 'The Morning Shows' Nestor Carbonell (still wearing his trademark guy-liner) and Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Mateo (Mayor of Kingstown / Friday Night Lights).  The rest of the TNT include Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor & Catalina Sandino Moreno and all have a pretty decent resume's,  having appeared in movies such as Ballerina, One Battle After Another & Nope - just to name a few of their individual credits.

This movie is definitely one of two halves.  First half see's a well scripted, edge of the seat, tense thriller with some fantastic back and forths between all of the team - less action, more 'who you going to trust' whereas in contrast, the second half ramps up the pace and once you've worked it all out - goes hell bent on the action movie genre with full effect.

It's great to see once again some of Hollywoods biggest stars signing up for streaming movies and sometimes, a really good gritty cop drama is all you really need.  That is however until I saw the trailer drop this week for 'He-Man, Masters of the Universe' and my 10yr old self got way more excited that I should have.  Now that's a movie I can't wait to see in all it's glory but until then, there is plenty out there to keep you entertained and The Rip is definitely one of them.

(Images used in blog are sourced from Wikipedia, Netflix, Good Housekeeping, Rotten Tomatoes & MovieWeb)