The Rip

Doing press, Matt Damon expressed frustration that Netflix required them to reiterate the plot multiple times throughout the movie to appease the “doomscrollers.” First, I love it when writers do that. Second, in this particular movie, I can see exactly why the Netflix bigwigs would need that. This cop-shop thriller can get CONFUSING. In what could almost count as a remake of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Matt & Ben are in top form here, but the characters are all lying to each other (spoiler alert). So, it’s often impossible to really know what’s going on. Filmakers cheat a little bit by cutting away from key conversations and screwing with the timeline to withhold information from the viewer. The whole movie is a twisty puzzle, reliant upon characters overhearing, misunderstanding, and lying to other characters. It knows what it is, and “MattFleck,” as well as the strong supporting cast, understand the assignment.