The much-anticipated reunion of Hollywood's golden duo, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, has landed with a disappointing thud on Netflix. Their new film, The Rip, which began streaming on Friday 16 January 2026, is a charmless crime thriller that squanders its impressive cast and a promising premise on lacklustre execution.
A Promising Partnership Gone Stale
The pairing of Affleck and Damon – childhood friends who won an Oscar together for Good Will Hunting and recently founded the production company Artists Equity – usually promises a certain brand of rumpled, Bostonian charm. Here, under the direction of Joe Carnahan (Copshop, The A-Team), they play Miami narcotics officers, Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon) and Detective Sergeant JD Byrne (Affleck), part of a team specialising in high-stakes cash and drug seizures, or "rips".
The central conflict ignites when their latest operation uncovers a hidden stash of over $20m. With Damon's character burdened by a broken marriage, a deceased son, and mounting bills, and Affleck's harbouring a secret relationship with a murdered police captain, the temptation to pocket the life-changing cash threatens to destroy their bond.
Wasted Talent and Scrolling-Friendly Dialogue
Despite the potent setup for a gritty, Heat-style confrontation, The Rip delivers remarkably little suspense or character depth. The film is afflicted by what the review identifies as a common Netflix curse: dialogue seemingly written for an audience distracted by their phones. A prime example cited sees a handcuffed suspect (Sasha Calle) asking about a photo on a phone lockscreen, leading to a painfully obvious exchange that does nothing to advance plot or character.
While Affleck and Damon strive to inject some gruff humanity, the supporting characters are criminally underdeveloped. This is a particular waste of talents like Steven Yeun, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Teyana Taylor – the latter fresh from her breakout in One Battle After Another and a potential Oscar winner. Carnahan's action sequence, when it finally arrives, notably sidelines the film's female characters.
A Questionable Narrative and Lost Charm
The film's narrative perspective has also drawn criticism. It positions its police officers – who bemoan earning $80,000 (£60,000) a year after taxes – as underappreciated heroes, framing audience surprise at a non-corrupt cop as a desired reaction. This aligns it with a recent trend, following 2024's Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, of major Netflix releases appearing to defend the absolute power of American police, a stance that strips away the expected charm of a "Mattfleck" project.
Ultimately, The Rip is a 112-minute misfire. For a film centred on betrayal among brothers-in-arms, it generates negligible heat, failing to leverage its star power or its ensemble of award-calibre actors. It stands as a forgettable entry in the filmographies of all involved.
