‘The Rip’ on Netflix: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Reunite for a taut Miami crime thriller

The latest: The Rip movie arrives today, bringing Matt Damon and Ben Affleck back on screen together in a hard-charging action thriller set in Miami. Dropping directly to streaming on January 16, 2026, the film plants the duo inside a high-stakes police operation that goes sideways the moment millions in cartel cash are discovered in a derelict stash house. The discovery fractures trust, draws predators from every direction, and turns partners into potential suspects.

The Rip movie: what it’s about

Built like a pressure cooker, The Rip follows a specialized unit that stumbles on an unimaginable haul and is forced to count the money on site before the criminals return. That ticking clock becomes the film’s metronome, ratcheting tension as loyalties splinter. The title borrows street-level slang for an aggressive seizure—fitting, because once the first duffel is opened, the story becomes an escalating tug-of-war between duty, temptation, and survival.

While the plot stands on its own, the premise draws on real-world anecdotes from narcotics policing, where cash seizures could trigger tipster payouts and a flood of leads. The film leans into those gray zones—what happens when the windfall is too big, the rules feel negotiable, and the wrong people learn the right address.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck lead a loaded cast

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck anchor the film as veteran cops whose partnership is tested minute by minute. The Rip surrounds them with an ensemble designed to crackle under pressure: Steven Yeun adds quiet volatility inside the unit; Teyana Taylor and Sasha Calle push the story’s moral lines; Catalina Sandino Moreno and Kyle Chandler round out the team and the forces circling it; action favorite Scott Adkins brings physical menace when the clock runs out. The chemistry is the hook—two longtime collaborators navigating a powder-keg scenario where one bad look can change everything.

Release timing: how and when to watch

• Platform: Streaming exclusively on Netflix (no theatrical release).

• Date: Friday, January 16, 2026.

• Time: Available from 3:00 a.m. ET / 12:00 a.m. PT in the U.S. and Canada; 8:00 a.m. GMT in the UK.

• Genre & tone: Lean, muscular crime action with a throwback cop-thriller vibe—compressed timeline, terse dialogue, practical intensity.

Scheduling is subject to platform updates by region, but the day-and-date global drop places The Rip at the center of weekend watch lists.

Why ‘The Rip’ matters for streaming deals

Behind the on-screen reunion, The Rip has been closely watched for its business model. The project is produced under the duo’s Artists Equity banner and arrives with a performance-based bonus structure that shares upside more broadly across the production—cast, crew, and crafts—if the movie clears designated benchmarks in its first 90 days. That approach stands out in a streaming landscape that has often favored flat, up-front compensation with limited back-end participation. If The Rip over-performs, expect renewed debate about how streaming originals measure success and how those wins are distributed.

Filmmaking DNA: a throwback with modern muscle

The Rip is cut from the same cloth as 1970s and early-2000s cop thrillers—ground-level tension, sweaty rooms, fractured loyalties—updated with crisp, contemporary action design. The camera favors tight spaces and practical geography, keeping viewers oriented as the team moves room to room and floor to floor. The score leans percussive; the edits ride the rhythm of money counting, radio chatter, and doors about to blow. It’s the kind of movie that treats procedure as suspense and character choices as the true detonators.

Key details at a glance

• Stars: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Kyle Chandler, Scott Adkins.

• Setting: Miami, primarily in and around a compromised safehouse and the neighborhoods that radiate from it.

• Themes: Loyalty vs. survival, the corrosive lure of fast cash, the thin line between order and opportunism.

• Audience: Fans of tightly wound crime dramas, character-driven action, and the Damon–Affleck screen partnership.

Early reaction and what to watch for

Initial buzz highlights the film’s relentless pacing and the Damon–Affleck dynamic—comfortable enough to crack a grin under duress, tense enough to make every silence feel dangerous. Expect conversation around the ending (no spoilers), the way the film deploys its ensemble, and whether this kind of muscular, mid-budget actioner can dominate the cultural weekend without a theatrical runway.

For viewers, the playbook is simple: The Rip is a Friday drop built for an edge-of-the-seat Saturday night. If it lands, it could signal a bigger shift in both programming strategy—front-loading January with A-list muscle—and compensation models that reward the entire production when a title catches fire.

The Rip puts Matt Damon and Ben Affleck back in a lane where their partnership has real bite: morally tangled, time-boxed, and built for suspense. If you’ve been waiting for a new cop thriller that feels old-school in the best way, hit play.