The Rip (Netflix) Review: It Pretty Much Rips

Joe Carnahan’s The Rip is a suspenseful cop thriller full of surprising twists, fun action and solid, believable performances.

It’s nothing groundbreaking, but at least it doesn’t feel like copaganda, making it clear that institutions such as the Miami PD (and the DEA… and the FBI…) are full of both honest officers and corrupt criminals.

The Rip starts with the murder of police captain Jackie Velez (Lina Esco) by a couple of masked thugs, an event that triggers an atmosphere of unease and paranoia within the precinct. Her boyfriend, Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne (Affleck), wants to do everything in his power to find her killers, but is cut short by his brother, FBI Agent Del Byrne (Scott Adkins, trying his darnest to sound American), who believes there might be a traitor within the force. And his best friend, Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon), has to deal with his superior, Major Thom Vallejo (Nestor Carbonell, of The Dark Knight Rises), who can only manage to complain about budget cuts and PR moves.

Things change, though, when Dane receives a tip saying that there’s a stash of cartel money ready to be collected by the force (or “ripped”) in a nearby house. Thus, he goes to the place alongside J.D. and the rest of their team: Detective Mike Ro (Steven Yeun, of Mickey 17), who looks nervous all the time; Detective Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor, of One Battle After Another), who seems to be his relaxed opposite; Detective Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandino Moreno, of Ballerina), who just wants to get back home to her kids, and of course, Wilbur the Money Dog (Wilbur the Dog), a precious Beagle whose job is to, appropriately, sniff and find the hidden money at the house.

And that he does (he’s such a good boy), but instead of finding a couple of thousand dollars, he leads the team to a bit more than twenty million bucks. On the one hand, Dane and the others could simply do their job, count the money and leave the place. But on the other hand, they could take a big chunk of change without anyone noticing. In any case, their situation turns sour when they get a call from a mysterious voice saying they should leave, otherwise they will all be killed. And the fact that the “owner” of the house, Desi Lopez Molina (Sasha Calle, of The Flash), seems to be aware of who might be setting them up certainly doesn’t help.

The Rip might sound like a rather complicated affair, but it really isn’t. It’s actually a pretty straightforward tale of betrayal, cops, criminals, Mexican cartels and corrupt officers. Carnahan’s script manages to feel both familiar and suitably original, making the film feel not unlike other thrillers you may have seen before, while at the same time including a couple of actually surprising twists that, thankfully, make sense in retrospect and manage to improve the experience rather than souring it.

In that sense, The Rip isn’t the smartest thriller ever made, but it works as a satisfying experience that keeps the viewer guessing, unsure of who could be a traitor, a snitch or an actual good guy. Steven Yeun’s Ro, for example, seems to be a stand-up guy, but his nervousness and fidgeting make one wonder. Sandino Moreno’s Lolo talks about potentially robbing a bit of the money, since she has to take care of and pay the expenses of her two children. And even Teyana Taylor’s Numa could be a suspect, despite not seeming to care too much about anything.

That’s why The Rip works: because it kinda-sorta feels like a “whodunit” that takes place in a realistic context and is filled with fistfights, chases and quite suspenseful sequences. Moreover, both Damon and Affleck do a good job at portraying their complicated characters. The former plays Dane like someone who might be hiding something from his best friend; he’s quite the mystery, which makes the inevitable revelation of his true intentions all the more satisfying. And the latter plays J.D. as an aggressive “man of action” who simply wants revenge for the death of his girlfriend; he might be feisty, but he’s certainly not bad.

The Rip is the kind of action-thriller that could have easily played in cinemas in the nineties, finding a pretty big audience thanks to its effective mix of suspense, action and very light humour. It feels realistic, it doesn’t shy away from a couple of relevant themes –even if it doesn’t delve deep into them–, and it doesn’t feel like it’s insulting its audience’s intelligence. Performances are all great –the Beagle being a standout, of course, especially since I spent most of the film worrying about him– and it doesn’t outstay its welcome, feeling lean, mean and exciting. The Rip, as younger folk would say, rips, and it certainly sits above Netflix’s usual commercial fare.

The Rip will be available to stream globally on Netflix from January 16, 2026.