Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are one of Hollywood’s true, shining friendships — pushing close to 30 years now. From School Ties to Good Will Hunting, then decades later The Last Duel, Air, and now The Rip. It’s rare to see a real-life friendship endure this long in the industry, let alone continue to produce genuinely compelling work together.
Obviously, School Ties was their first collaboration — a great early-’90s prep-school drama and really the beginning of both of their careers. But for me, my relationship with Affleck and Damon truly began in university. First year at McMaster, sitting alone in my dorm room, I watched Good Will Hunting for the very first time. I remember sitting in silence as Matt Damon’s Will Hunting drives off down the freeway at the end, heading out to see about a girl — and something about that moment just landed. Movies kind of changed for me right there.
This was before Netflix. This was the Blockbuster era. Our dorm had this shared network where everyone traded files, and I remember watching Good Will Hunting twice in one day, thinking, that might be the best movie I’ve ever seen. And honestly, at one point, it probably was. It’s not my single favorite movie of all time, but it’s absolutely one of them. Ever since then, Affleck and Damon have just been special actors to me. So when they reunite — especially after going so long without working together — it genuinely feels like an event.
Which brings us to The Rip.
Directed by Joe Carnahan and inspired by true events, The Rip follows a Miami police task force that receives a tip about a potential money safe house. They think they’re walking into a modest bust — maybe $150,000. Instead, they stumble into over $20 million. From there, paranoia sets in. Trust erodes. And the movie becomes a slow-burn psychological cat-and-mouse game about loyalty, corruption, and whether the people you trust most are actually the ones you should fear.
The cast is absolutely stacked — something Carnahan has always been good at (Smoking Aces was a formative “this movie is cool as hell” experience for me back in high school). Alongside Affleck and Damon, you’ve got Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor (coming off major awards momentum), the always-reliable Kyle Chandler, Sasha Calle, and more. Everyone shows up ready to work.
But let’s be honest — we’re here for one main reason: Affleck and Damon.
They play cops, longtime partners who clearly respect one another… until that trust starts to fracture. Watching their dynamic unfold is the best they’ve been together on screen since Good Will Hunting. And it’s completely different energy. These aren’t scrappy kids or ambitious outsiders — they’re tough, hard-nosed cops. There’s a lot of swearing, a lot of tension, and at one point, they even come to blows. It’s electric. Their chemistry — built over decades — just pours off the screen.
Every major movie they’ve done together (School Ties, Good Will Hunting, The Last Duel, Air, and now The Rip) works because these two are extraordinary actors. When you let them actually “chop it up” onscreen, it’s riveting.
What really surprised me, though, was how well the twists landed. I usually catch onto these things early, but this movie genuinely kept me guessing. When the curtain finally gets pulled back and you realize what’s really happening, I actually said, well fucking done. The paranoia works. The suspicion feels earned. You’re constantly asking yourself who’s dirty, who’s clean, and whether anyone is actually telling the truth.
This isn’t a shoot-’em-up action movie. There are really only a couple of action sequences — one brief, one at the end — but that’s not the point. This is a slow-burn police thriller, driven by performance and tension. And it flies by. I was locked in the entire time. I checked my phone maybe twice — which is saying something for a Netflix-at-home watch.
And that’s the one frustrating thing: this movie absolutely should have been in theaters. January is notorious for being a dumping ground for bad movies, yet The Rip is excellent. This easily could have made solid box office money with a short theatrical run. I would have loved to see this on the big screen — hell, even in IMAX. I want movie stars in movie theaters. Simple as that.
Shout-out as well to Wilbur, the money-sniffing police dog — always a sucker for a great movie dog, and Wilbur understood the assignment.
At the end of the day, The Rip just works. It’s tense, well-acted, confident, and powered by one of the best actor duos of the last three decades doing what they do best. No pun intended, but The Rip absolutely rips.
Definitely check it out. This movie is going to do big numbers on Netflix — and deservedly so — even if it still feels like a missed opportunity not seeing Affleck and Damon command a theater screen once again.
The Rip = 75/100
