Amongst cinephiles, the first portion of the year is often referred to as “Dumpuary”, a time when studios dump their less viable projects after the glut of holiday programming. Nobody would accuse The Rip, arriving on Netflix in a mere few hours, of being another byproduct of the trend, but it’s surprisingly one of the more viable offerings in recent memory. It’s not high-minded enough to decry its streaming-only release, but it’s entertaining enough to command the viewer’s attention as more than something to have on in the background while otherwise occupied. It helps that it’s helmed by writer-director Joe Carnahan, who’s a kind of action schlock journeyman, with credits like The Grey and Smokin’ Aces, as he’s able to fill the proceedings with enough intrigue and twists before relying on gunplay or a high body count.

The film takes place over the course of a single night, as Miami TNT (Tactical Narcotics Team) detectives prepare to take down a reported stash house holding $150,000, but are thrown for a loop once they discover the take is well above what they expected. The Rip takes its title from the TNT’s slang word for the job, a task that easily lends itself to rip-offs and betrayals. As the film begins, the team is still reeling from the death of one of their own, gunned down by masked men in the rain, and they can’t help but wonder if it’s because she was dirty. Lt. Dane Dumars (Matt Damon) leads the team with Sgt. JD Byrne (Ben Affleck), Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor), Mike Ro (Steven Yeun), and Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandino Moreno), who aren’t exactly the most three dimensional characters on paper, but the more-than-capable actors portraying them give them some needed verve.

The aforementioned rip takes place at Desi’s (Sasha Calle) home, where almost $20 million is found in a number of barrels in her attic. This sets off alarm bells between Dumars and Byrne, as they’re left unsure why there’s such a large discrepancy between what was reported and what was found. The remainder of The Rip unfolds as a kind of Hitchockian riff on who can be trusted, who knows more than they’re letting on, and who might be coming to claim the cash. Carnahan smartly uses our preconceived notions, especially of Damon and Affleck, to subvert their characters’ true motivations. Damon reads as the straight-laced leader, and Affleck as the hothead who can’t be trusted, but The Rip has a few tricks up its sleeves.

Of course, that’s not to say that the film is all edge-of-your-seat material. It becomes clear that the full truth won’t arrive until the end, so when the characters become convinced they know what’s going on, we know it’s mostly misdirect after misdirect. The Rip‘s many twists and turns come at the expense of knowing any of its secondary characters at all below the surface; Baptiste and Salazar are the least developed, and while it’s always a joy to see them chewing the scenery, it ultimately feels like their characters could have been combined. At least cinematographer Juan Miguel Azpiroz makes the film look vibrant and grimy, utilizing the nighttime atmosphere to heighten the tension.

Often times, it can be disheartening to see past (and, as of this writing, concerning Teyana Taylor, future) Oscar nominees in a Dumpuary Netflix release, but The Rip doesn’t feel like a waste of anyone’s talents. Perhaps if the film had come out 15 years ago, it would be hailed as a solid adult thriller – the kind of film that’s now mostly relegated to streaming and it served up by trade publications when they flop financially. This could spark a longer conversation about which movies do and do not deserve a theatrical release (spoiler: they all do), but even if The Rip doesn’t reinvent the genres it’s indebted to, it’s worth seeking out regardless.

The Rip will be available to stream on Netflix on January 16.

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