REVIEW:
The Rip is an absolute power house of a movie. It’s a one night in one stranded location kind of movie, where there is an immediate threat on the way and characters need to sit tight and prepare for it. Basically, it’s like Assault of Precinct 13 or one of those movies where characters are waiting for an oncoming attack. And it’s also a mystery. The story is about this group of cops, called TNT (tactical narcotics team,) who are in charge of finding the stored money of drug dealers. When one of their own team members is murdered and then a tip comes in about a potential stash house, where a whole lot of money may be being held, the team rushes out to the scene to get a look at the situation. From there, we are at our main location for most of the movie.
The location is this single house, and the street that it’s located on. I love that the movie takes us both inside and outside of the house on a number of occasions, showing us the characters who are standing watch outside, while also showing us what’s happening with the other characters inside. Another thing this movie does that is fantastic is it takes its time, while also moving pretty quickly. Those two things seem like opposites, and yet in this movie, they’re not. For example, we get scenes that quickly explain everything through interrogations as well as a meeting between Dane (Matt Damon,) and his commanding officer, at the start of the film. And a lot of ground is covered in just those first couple of minutes, with all of it being explained nicely. We learn not only about TNT, but also about VCAT, another team, which was recently shut down, and the reasons why.
I like how the movie shows us the relationships between these characters and what they do on their own time, outside of work. Like an early scene we get where the characters are all just sitting around in a parking lot drinking beers, chatting it up. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck may not have written this movie, but they know how to depict the hanging out interactions between characters, establishing the relationships while dropping hints of the overall important ideas. They did it with Good Will Hunting and the Town, and they do it again here.
Once the characters pull up to the house, the real investigation begins, and it’s a hell of a nail-biter. We are on the edge of our seats about who to trust, our suspicions, and where the threats are coming from, for nearly the entire movie. There is a limited amount of action in this one, and that’s a good thing, because the tone is much more about build up than anything else. Instead of being heavy on the action and light on the dialogue, this movie is all about the dialogue and conversations, and trying to uncover what is really going on in this house, with this money, and figuring out who is trying to get it.
There is so much to like here, including quick panning or overhead shots and put you right into the moment. The technical jargon thrown around by these characters also works, to give this movie a sense of authenticity. And the way that characters don’t trust each other,, and that everyone is s suspect, is really cool. I don’t love the ending, but it’s pretty much the only weak part in the movie. And to be clear, we are not talking about the twist here. The twist is great, and is handled nicely. It’s just the action scenes that take place after the twist, which are a little bit of a letdown. Not a one of them can compare to the fantastic shoot out when are characters were trapped inside a garage during a shootout. There are definitely flawed moments in the movie, but most of them are pretty small and inconsequential. Overall, this is a pretty excellent film.