In light of the winter storm sweeping through Matagorda County over the weekend, I decided to catch a recently released Netflix film – “The Rip.”
Interestingly enough, the film is also based on the true story of Miami-Dade County Sheriff Chris Casiano who discovered a massive sum of money stashed in a house while serving as head of the Miami-Dade Police Department’s Tactical Narcotics Team.
Now, there’s no shortage of cop movies pitting friends and coworkers against each other and this follows many of those same tropes.
However, I think it works just a tiny bit better than those due to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s friendship.
I mean, I’ve watched these two interacting on and off screen for decades and they have a great flow along with the ability to play off each other, too.
Outside of that, the flick is pretty run-of-the-mill to me, but would definitely be in worse shape without Damon and Affleck.
Rip is an American action thriller film written and directed by Joe Carnahan who developed the story with Michael McGrale.
It mainly stars Damon and Affleck as police officers within the narcotics unit of the Miami-Dade Police Department with supporting cast members played by Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Scott Adkins, Lina Esco, and Kyle Chandler.
The movie clocks in at 113 minutes long and is rated R for violence and pervasive language.
When Captain Jackie Velez (Esco) of the Miami-Dade Police Department is murdered, suspicion falls on her specialized unit, the Tactical Narcotics Team (TNT), amid rumors of crooked cops robbing drug houses.
Her second-in-command, Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon) receives a tip about an address in Hialeah and leads his fellow detectives JD Byrne (Affleck), Mike Ro (Yeun), Numa Baptiste (Taylor), and Lolo Salazar (Moreno), to search the house for illicit money.
When asked how much money they’re preparing to find, Dumars tells each team member a different number.
Once at the house, Desi Molina (Calle), the late homeowner’s granddaughter, reluctantly lets the team inside.
There they discover roughly $20 million in drug cartel cash hidden inside a wall in the attic.
Dumars realizes the high risk associated with seizing such a large sum of money and decides to deviate from standard seizure protocol.
Refusing to notify higher command, he also confiscates the team’s phones, although Ro secretly has a burner phone.
After an uneasy encounter with local officers, the team arms themselves as they count the money on site, per standard procedure.
Desi explains that she was instructed to offer a share of the money if the stash was discovered.
Dumars becomes suspicious after learning she was once a police informant.
As mysterious calls to the house threaten the team to leave, Byrne confronts Dumars for lying about the original tip, which he refuses to show him.
Fearing the lieutenant is preparing to steal the money, Byrne calls DEA Agent Matty Nix (Chandler), who suggests Dumars may have been involved with Velez’s death.
Realizing the empty neighborhood is under the cartel’s control, Byrne investigates a nearby house alone, and Desi warns Ro that she heard Dumars convince Baptiste and Salazar to help rob the stash.
Unfortunately for the team, things get more confusing and worse before they’ll get better.
Dumars and Byrne’s friendship is tested until the very end and it makes the film more worthwhile than others with similar storylines.
But, hey, don’t take my word for it – check it out on Netflix for yourself.
