When Ben Affleck and Matt Damon reunite on screen, expectations naturally run high. Their latest collaboration, The Rip, which debuted on Netflix on January 15, 2026, delivers a gritty, tension-packed cop thriller that’s as much about moral ambiguity as it is about action. Written and directed by Joe Carnahan, known for his work on Narc and The A-Team, the film enlists a powerhouse cast—Teyana Taylor, Steven Yeun, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Kyle Chandler, Scott Adkins, and Néstor Carbonell—to tell a story inspired by true events.
Set in a perpetually rainy and foreboding Miami, The Rip opens with the shocking murder of police captain Jackie Velez, played by Lina Esco. This tragedy sets the tone for what’s to come, and immediately thrusts Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon) into the leadership role of the Tactical Narcotics Team (TNT). His right-hand man, Detective Sergeant JD Byrne (Affleck), is a longtime friend and confidant, but as the plot quickly reveals, trust is a slippery thing in this world. The rest of the squad is rounded out by Detective Mike Ro (Yeun), Detective Numa Baptiste (Taylor), and Detective Lolo Salazar (Moreno), each grappling with their own demons and the relentless pressures of police work.
According to New Jersey Monthly, the film, though set in Miami, was largely shot in Los Angeles and across various New Jersey locations in the fall of 2024—including Hudson, Union, and Passaic counties. The production made use of 10 Basin Studios in Kearny, as well as sites in Jersey City, Bayonne, Elizabeth, and Wayne. This creative sleight of hand allowed the filmmakers to transform the Garden State into the sun-soaked, yet brooding, streets of South Florida. The movie’s moody visual palette—murky, rain-soaked, and dim—contributes to its overall sense of unease and mounting tension.
At its core, The Rip is a story about temptation and trust, both within the police force and beyond. The plot kicks into high gear when Dumars receives a tip about a suburban stash house. The team, already reeling from their captain’s murder, heads out to investigate. What they find is jaw-dropping: a hidden fortune—$20 million in cash, to be exact—stashed in the attic. In police parlance, it’s a “rip,” a score so big it could change lives forever. As Beacon Journal reviewer George M. Thomas puts it, "Dumars, leader of the squad, receives a tip there is a potentially significant stash of cash in a suburban drug house within their jurisdiction they can seize. That only stiffens their resolve when they surmise the case just may be linked to their murdered colleague."
But with great fortune comes great suspicion. Procedure dictates that the cash must be counted on site, but a series of unsettling events—the arrival of suburban police, an ominous anonymous phone call warning the team to leave within 30 minutes or face deadly consequences—ratchet up the stakes. The team’s dedication to protocol, championed by Dumars, clashes with Byrne’s growing unease. As the hours tick by, questions mount: Is this a setup? Can Dumars and Byrne trust each other, or anyone else on the team?
The film’s script, as noted by /Film, keeps viewers guessing about the true motivations of its characters. "The ultimate question arises: what’s Dumars’ motivation? Twenty-million dollars is a lot of cash and more money than any cop on the team will ever see and the inevitable debate over what public service – especially as a cop – means happens when members of the team count the money," observes Thomas in his review. The tension between duty and temptation is palpable, and Carnahan’s direction wrings every drop of suspense from the scenario.
Affleck and Damon’s chemistry, honed over decades of friendship and previous collaborations, is a highlight. Damon’s Dumars is subdued and methodical, weighed down by personal grief and financial strain, while Affleck’s Byrne is impulsive, quick to anger, and increasingly suspicious. Their dynamic propels the narrative, especially as suspicions of an inside job grow and the fabric of the team begins to unravel. The supporting cast, while given less to do, adds layers of complexity—Taylor’s Numa Baptiste and Moreno’s Lolo Salazar, in particular, provide glimpses into the pressures and moral quandaries faced by those on the front lines of law enforcement.
Kyle Chandler, as a DEA agent who hovers on the story’s periphery, brings a dose of charisma and unpredictability. And while the film’s tone is relentlessly bleak—"grim, gloomy," as /Film describes it—there are moments of levity and camaraderie, such as when the team interacts with a money-sniffing dog or shares fleeting moments of dark humor.
Yet, for all its strengths, The Rip isn’t without its critics. Some reviewers, like those at /Film, argue that the movie’s dour tone and familiar beats make it feel less like a cinematic event and more like an extended pilot for a gritty cop series. "We've seen this type of cop thriller before — and done better," one review notes, lamenting the lack of character development and the murky visuals that sometimes obscure the action. Still, the film’s twists and turns, coupled with the star power of its leads, keep the audience invested until the credits roll.
The film’s production pedigree is notable as well. Produced by Damon and Affleck’s Artists Equity company, The Rip marks another venture in their ongoing partnership, one that seeks to balance commercial appeal with thoughtful storytelling. The movie is rated R for violence and pervasive language, clocking in at a robust two hours and thirteen minutes—a runtime that allows for both slow-burn suspense and explosive confrontations.
For those seeking a weekend escape, The Rip sits alongside other streaming offerings, as highlighted by The Boston Globe. It’s part of a crowded landscape of new releases, but the draw of seeing Affleck and Damon back in action together is hard to resist. The film’s exploration of loyalty, temptation, and the gray areas of justice ensures it lingers in the mind long after viewing, even if it doesn’t reinvent the genre.
In the end, The Rip stands as a moody, morally complex entry in the modern cop thriller canon—one that leverages its star power and real-world inspiration to ask tough questions about trust, duty, and the price of crossing the line.