Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. I was able to watch this with audio description from International Digital Center.

it is possible to get excited about the reteaming of certain actors, for example, the good old Walter Matthau and jack Lemmon duo. Grumpy Old Men absolutely worked for them, and I loved the sequel as well.They tried extending the magic of their reunion with an ill advised The Odd Couple 2 and also out To Sea. Both are for die hard Matthau and Lemmon fans. It took us a while to even get a true pairing of Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, in Michael Mann’s extraordinary Heat. While they both are in The Godfather part II, they don’t share any scenes. So after heat made the magic happen, we waited anxiously for… Righteous Kill?

That brings us to the reteaming of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, the Academy Award Winning duo behind Good Will Hunting, who were last seen in the very underrated The last Duel. So, you can be forgiven for forgetting. However, outside of kevin Smith films, they really don’t reteam often on legitimate projects. both have really sought independence, stepping away from the Damon and Affleck brand. It’s a shame, because The rip is the first film in quite some time to really put these guys front and center in the top two billing roles. Affleck is not the second lead of The last duel. So, even though this was a netflix project, i forced myself to be optimistic. Even when they saddled it with a January release date, I held firm. After all, not only does this feature those two, but Oscar nominees Steven Yuen and Catalina Sandino Moreno are here, along with recent Golden Globe Winner (and future Oscar nominee) Tiana Taylor. Their cast is rounded out by some familiar faces like Scott Adkins, Sasha Calle, and Kyle Chandler. To make things even more promising, Joe Carnahan directs. he’s a complicated auteur, mostly landing his works on the positive side. I really enjoyed 2002’s Narc with Jason Patric and Ray Liotta, and since then, Carnahan kicked off Smokin Aces, The Grey, and The A-Team reboot. Even more recently, he helmed Cop Shop and Boss Level for Hulu. He did strike out with Shadow Force in 2025, unquestionably. Is Carnahan on a downwards trend?

I spent the whole film thinking of better films. not just Carnahan’s own Narc, but Affleck’s the Town.It’s hard to watch this and wonder what Affleck might have brought to the directors chair. The plot revolves around a group of cops who get a hot tip, head to a house with their money sniffing dog, and perform the titular action and find 20 million in the wall of a house.

What follows next is a game of cat and mouse, lies and deceit, and wondering if these cops can trust each other. The main one behind the rip (Damon) is presented as morally questionable or ambiguous. Maybe he’s dirty. He’s challenged by Sarge (Affleck), who isn’t going to have his career ruined by a rogue cop. Then there’s Mike (Yuen), the naive younger cop stuck in the middle. Calle and Taylor play two underdeveloped cops, and Moreno plays the woman whose house they are all inside.

There’s some sleight of hand, so I have to work to not spoil anything, but I did guess most of where this film was headed. The Rip reminded me a bit of Reptile, another Netflix film that should have been better than it was. The Rip is slow, it isn’t particularly interesting, and leans on the fact that Damon, who often plays good guys, can be accepted as a potential villain, thanks to his performances in The Departed and interstellar. None of the actors here are bad, but they aren’t supported by a script that pushes them in any interesting or meaningful ways.

Shockingly, this movie has a reported budget of 100 million. Where? With what? On salaries? Nearly the entire film is shot in the same location. It is such a limited shoot, I wonder where the money actually went. Did everyone get massive upfront paychecks? for those who haven’t seen the film yet,imagine if Room cost 100 million to make, or Reservoir Dogs. There’s such a huge focus on this one house, that they spend easily 75% of the film there. A few scenes are in the neighborhood around it, and the rest is split between the opening sequence and some driving.Where did the money go?

I’m of the mindset that Netflix is good for some and bad for others. For those looking for blank checks for passion projects, Netflix has rewarded certain directors the freedom to explore and create magic. Guillermo Del Toro has embraced this through his adaptations of Pinocchio, Scorsese could have only made The Irishman here, Alfonso Cuaron got Roma into the Best Picture race through Netflix, and Bradley Cooper’s Maestro is ambitious. But for some directors, it reveals the harsh truth that Netflix is a bit more interested in product than the quality of it. I’m willing to bet Carnahan didn’t get much feedback, and who can really blame them? At a certain point, the film doesn’t work, and the only thing to salvage what remains is reshoots. It’s hard to throw more money at an already over budgeted project. Carnahan, sadly, might just be on a downswing.

there’s no one else to blame. it is his script and his direction, and while you could say Netflix just puts out whatever, they’ve also just put out films from other directors that actually work. This is slow, then it tries to darken the mood with creepy phone calls. I appreciate the casting, but using top tier talent and not giving them anything to do feels somehow worse.

I wanted the chase sequence in the Town, with Affleck and Jeremy Renner trying to survive, or some of the exceptional sequences in Heat. Crime suspense films can and should be exciting. Carnahan knows this, which is how we get a range from Narc to Cop Shop. Previously he has done a lot with very little, and talent less than what he has here. It’s so hard to look at this and feel like we won, and that this is the best possible outcome for this project.

When the film does get interesting, it relies heavily on flashbacks to make sure you feel silly for not paying attention.The score was OK. Not great. The acting is fine. it isn’t too long, but damn, 100 million? And, I can’t recommend this, because half the time I was bored out of my mind. In the great cell phone test, it failed, as I kept wondering if I had a push notification.

RIP to the career of Joe Carnahan, whose lackluster direction is on full display as a talented cast of actors walk around a cast with nothing to do.

Rotten: 5.3/10