# The Rip (film)
**The Rip** is a 2026 American crime thriller film directed by [Joe Carnahan](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-carnahan) and written by Carnahan with Michael McGrale, in which a team of Miami narcotics officers finds millions of dollars in cartel cash during a house search and their trust in one another collapses under outside pressure. It stars [Matt Damon](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-damon) as Lieutenant Dane Dumars and [Ben Affleck](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-affleck) as Detective Sergeant JD Byrne, was produced by the pair's company Artists Equity, and was released on Netflix on January 16, 2026.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rip) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/b23f62bc18025321a102626ad263888b)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Joe Carnahan, with Michael McGrale as co-writer[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rip) |
| Leads | Matt Damon as Lt. Dane Dumars; Ben Affleck as Det. Sgt. JD Byrne[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rip) |
| Production company | Artists Equity; producers include Affleck, Damon, Luciana Damon, Dani Bernfeld, Michael Joe, and Kevin Halloran[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rip) |
| Release | Netflix streaming premiere, January 16, 2026[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rip) |
| Rating and runtime | R (pervasive language, violence); Rotten Tomatoes lists 1h 52m, while the Associated Press review lists 133 minutes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rip) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/b23f62bc18025321a102626ad263888b) |
| Budget | $100 million[3](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-rip-2026) |
| Netflix performance | Peak week of 41.6 million views (January 12–18, 2026); 49 days in the Netflix Top 10[4](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/title/the-rip/) |
| Reception | 77% Tomatometer and 65% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore of 63 on Metacritic[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rip) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rip/critic-reviews/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and plot
The story follows a squad of Miami narcotics officers who raid a cartel stash house expecting a modest find. Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Matt Damon) says the house may hold $150,000 hidden in the walls; the team instead discovers more than $20 million, and the mission turns from a routine search into a siege in which no one can be trusted.[2](https://apnews.com/article/b23f62bc18025321a102626ad263888b) Netflix's logline describes how trust among the team frays as outside forces learn the size of the seizure, calling into question who the officers can rely on.[6](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81915745)
The film opens with internal interrogations inside the Miami police department after the fatal shooting of a detective ([Lina Esco](https://www.edgepedia.org/lina-esco)), establishing a department in which nobody knows who is clean and who is dirty. A recurring motif is a tattoo on Dumars's hand reading "AWTGG", short for "Are we the good guys?", a question put to him by a young woman (Sasha Calle) found at the stash house.[2](https://apnews.com/article/b23f62bc18025321a102626ad263888b) The title itself is police slang: as the cast explained at Netflix's Tudum event in 2025, a "rip" is something you pull from a crime scene, in this case a large amount of cash.[7](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/live/netflix-tudum-2025-live-event-preview-teasers-and-more-news-about-stranger-things-wednesday-and-more)
## Cast
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck lead the film as Lieutenant Dane Dumars and Detective Sergeant JD Byrne, with [Steven Yeun](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-yeun), Teyana Taylor as Detective Numa Baptiste, Kyle Chandler, Scott Adkins, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Sasha Calle, Nestor Carbonell, and Lina Esco in supporting roles.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rip) • [8](https://www.netflix.com/title/81915745?so=su) Both leads also served as producers.[2](https://apnews.com/article/b23f62bc18025321a102626ad263888b)
The film marked the first time Affleck and Damon shared top billing since *[Dogma](https://www.edgepedia.org/dogma-film)* (1999), according to *The Atlantic*, although the two have acted together on screen numerous times and made more than a dozen films together.[9](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/01/the-rip-netflix-movie-review-matt-damon-ben-affleck-friendship/685687/) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/b23f62bc18025321a102626ad263888b)
## Production and true story
Carnahan has said the film is inspired by real events as described to him by a Miami detective. According to a *Time* account, on June 29, 2016, Miami-Dade Police officer Chris Casiano and his narcotics team executed a search warrant on a house on 169th Terrace in Miami Lakes; Carnahan first heard the story while working with Casiano on the 2020 film *Bad Boys for Life*, and finished the script in a five-week sprint before it reached Dani Bernfeld, president of [Artists Equity](https://www.edgepedia.org/artists-equity).[2](https://apnews.com/article/b23f62bc18025321a102626ad263888b) • [10](https://time.com/7346935/the-rip-true-story/) Netflix's own synopsis describes the film as "inspired by real events".[4](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/title/the-rip/)
The production carried a reported budget of $100 million.[3](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-rip-2026) Artists Equity, the company Affleck and Damon founded, operates with an unusual profit-participation arrangement for cast and crew, and *The Atlantic* reported that for *The Rip* the company worked out a profit-sharing model with Netflix.[2](https://apnews.com/article/b23f62bc18025321a102626ad263888b) • [9](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/01/the-rip-netflix-movie-review-matt-damon-ben-affleck-friendship/685687/) Damon has spoken publicly about the notes the streaming context generated, including a request for a large set piece inside the first five minutes and for the plot to be restated several times over the running time.[11](https://sightlines.media/film/1306368/the-rip-2026)
## Release and viewership
The film premiered globally on Netflix on January 16, 2026.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rip) • [11](https://sightlines.media/film/1306368/the-rip-2026) It peaked at 41.6 million views in the week of January 12–18, 2026, and spent 49 days in the Netflix Top 10, with its latest tracked week (February 23 – March 1, 2026) at 2.4 million views.[4](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/title/the-rip/)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 77% Tomatometer from 162 reviews and a 65% Popcornmeter score from more than 2,500 ratings; the critics consensus credits the "classic chemistry" of Affleck and Damon in a friendship tested by greed.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rip) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 63 from 32 reviews, with 16 positive, 16 mixed, and none negative.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rip/critic-reviews/)
Reviewers generally placed the film in the tradition of older theatrical cop thrillers. [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter)'s David Rooney wrote that it does not reinvent the cops-in-a-pressure-cooker genre but that its mix of tension, car chases, and gunfire gets the job done.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rip/critic-reviews/) [The Globe and Mail](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-globe-and-mail)'s Barry Hertz called it a corrupt-cop drama aware of its B-movie aspirations, a mashup of *Training Day*, *Cop Land*, and *[Triple 9](https://www.edgepedia.org/triple-9)*.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rip/critic-reviews/) RogerEbert.com's Brian Tallerico described it as the rare Netflix original action film that plays like something you would want to see in theaters.[12](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-rip-netflix-matt-damon-ben-affleck-movie-review-2026) The Associated Press's review was more reserved, calling it a lean neo-noir whose light, hurried exposition leaves the potential double crosses hollow, and rating it two stars out of four.[2](https://apnews.com/article/b23f62bc18025321a102626ad263888b) The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey was the only top critic with a "rotten" score in the early tally reported by Forbes, criticizing dialogue written for viewers scrolling on their phones.[13](https://tollbit.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2026/01/16/damon-and-afflecks-the-rip-do-rotten-tomatoes-critics-give-a-rip/)
## Defamation lawsuit
Two Miami-Dade officers, identified in reports as Smith and Santana, filed a defamation case over the film. Their complaint argues that the film's use of "unique, non-generic details" from a real investigation, combined with the Miami-Dade setting and narcotics-team focus, creates a reasonable inference that the movie's officers are meant to represent them, and states that aside from the large seizure itself, the events portrayed did not happen. The officers' lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter before the January 2026 release; the defendants allegedly responded that the film did not expressly name Smith or imply either plaintiff engaged in misconduct. The plaintiffs sought a retraction, a prominent disclaimer, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney fees. Representatives for Affleck, Damon, and Artists Equity had not responded publicly at the time of reporting.[14](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/why-ben-affleck-matt-damon-are-facing-defamation-case-netflix-movie-the-rip)
## References
1. [The Rip, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rip)
2. [Movie Review: In 'The Rip,' cops both good and dirty find millions in cash, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/b23f62bc18025321a102626ad263888b)
3. [The Rip (2026) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-rip-2026)
4. [The Rip – Latest News and Updates, What's on Netflix](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/title/the-rip/)
5. [The Rip critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rip/critic-reviews/)
6. [The Rip, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81915745)
7. [Netflix Tudum 2025 recap, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/live/netflix-tudum-2025-live-event-preview-teasers-and-more-news-about-stranger-things-wednesday-and-more)
8. [Watch The Rip, Netflix Official Site](https://www.netflix.com/title/81915745?so=su)
9. [The Secret to One of Hollywood's Most Enduring Friendships, The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/01/the-rip-netflix-movie-review-matt-damon-ben-affleck-friendship/685687/)
10. [The True Story Behind Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's 'The Rip', Time](https://time.com/7346935/the-rip-true-story/)
11. [The Rip (2026), dir. Joe Carnahan, Sightlines](https://sightlines.media/film/1306368/the-rip-2026)
12. [The Rip review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-rip-netflix-matt-damon-ben-affleck-movie-review-2026)
13. [Damon And Affleck's 'The Rip': Do Rotten Tomatoes Critics Give A Rip?, Forbes](https://tollbit.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2026/01/16/damon-and-afflecks-the-rip-do-rotten-tomatoes-critics-give-a-rip/)
14. [Why Ben Affleck And Matt Damon Are Facing A Defamation Case For Their Netflix Movie The Rip, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/why-ben-affleck-matt-damon-are-facing-defamation-case-netflix-movie-the-rip)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2025–2026 films › Crime, heist, and gangster films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license