Netflix has released the official trailer for The Rip, a tense, high-stakes crime thriller from Joe Carnahan (Narc, Copshop). Said trailer will leave viewers wondering just where Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s characters really stand in the moral lineup.
Set in Miami, The Rip follows a group of cops who stumble on millions of dollars in cash inside an abandoned stash house. But as word gets out, tensions rise and trust starts to unravel — forcing everyone to rethink who they can actually count on. Carnahan points to classic crime dramas like Serpico, Prince of the City, and Michael Mann’s Heat as influences, while also drawing on the experience of a close Miami cop friend who taught him about “rips” — a slang term for cops seizing illegal weapons, drugs, or, as in this case, large amounts of cash.
At the centre of the film are Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars, who Carnahan says is “essentially playing the doppelgänger” of his real-life cop friend, and Affleck as his partner Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne. Both Damon and Affleck are also producing the film.
Carnahan comments on the pair’s involvement: “You talk about the meta of something, you’ve got these two guys who have both been world-famous for over 30 years with a wonderful sense of friendship and brotherhood … Those guys are just so gifted and lovely and talented and open.”
The rest of the cast includes Teyana Taylor, Steven Yeun, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Kyle Chandler, Scott Adkins, and Sasha Calle, all of whom Carnahan says “show up and give you this wonderful sense of reality and authenticity.” He adds, “All the performances are wonderful. It’s a testament to what happens when you get a bunch of talented people together, you give them something that they could relate to and latch onto and the results speak for themselves.”
Despite the film’s tension and high stakes, Carnahan hopes viewers don’t watch it with total cynicism. “There are good people in the world. They want to do good, they want to help people, they want to be kind, they want to be compassionate, they want to be empathetic … I think it’s a good time for that message.”
The Rip will be available to stream on Netflix from January 16.
