What would you do if you were a detective and, while searching a home, found barrels full of money? And by barrels, I mean $20 million worth in cash. Well, in the movie The Rip (2026) by Artists Equity, that’s exactly what a tactical narcotics team faced.
In this crime thriller by Joe Carnahan, we get to see Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (two of my favorite actors) star together once again. The two actors have been best friends since childhood and rose to fame together decades ago. The last time we saw these two stars together was in the 2021 historical drama The Last Duel. But in this film, they are carrying firearms instead of swords.
With a law enforcement background, I’m always on the lookout for a good cop movie. And while I’m not particularly fond of the “dirty” cop movies, this one was inspired by a true story from 2016. I’ll talk a little more about that later, but first, let’s talk about the movie.
A Friday Afternoon from Hell
The Rip follows Lieutenant Dane Dumars, played by Matt Damon. Dumars is a veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department’s Tactical Narcotics Team (TNT). He is weighed down by grief after the loss of his young son. His partner and closest friend is Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne, portrayed by Ben Affleck. Byrne is the classic maverick cop who smokes too much and thinks with his fists.
The story kicks off after their captain, Jackie Velez, is gunned down in an opening scene. Her death leaves the unit in a state of chaos and suspicion. Dumars receives a tip about a stash house in Hialeah. He leads his team, including characters played by Steven Yeun and Teyana Taylor, to investigate. What was supposed to be a small score turns into a massive discovery. They find $20 million in cartel cash hidden in the attic.
Instead of calling it in, Dumars decides to stay and count the money on-site. This decision isolates the team in a dangerous neighborhood controlled by the cartel. As the night progresses, trust begins to erode. Mysterious phone callers threaten the team, and it becomes clear that someone on the inside might be dirty.
The Guns
One of the best things about cop movies is the guns and shootouts. We all know how much made-up action they throw in the movies, but they do it because we like to see the action, right?
Since the characters in this movie are plainclothes detectives, their gear reflects a mix of concealable and heavy firepower.
Matt Damon’s character, Dane Dumars, carries a Glock 17 as his primary sidearm. That’s a pretty standard gun for a cop to carry. In several scenes, he is also seen with a short-barreled AR-15, which has a red dot and a tactical light mounted to it.
Ben Affleck’s J.D. Byrne stays true to his maverick persona by using a shoulder holster and a Glock 19. In some of the film’s firefights, Byrne is seen using an M4-style carbine.
Others in the movie also use a variety of firearms, including a Smith & Wesson M&P, Sig Sauer, and other popular brands.
The cartel, of course, gets a little more aggressive with its weaponry. They use various full-auto AK-style rifles and various submachine guns to lay down heavy suppressive fire. The sound of the gunfights in the movie is pretty good and about as realistic-sounding as you can get in a movie.
During several scenes, I also saw what looked like the Safariland QLS system and a few Safariland holsters. A lot of people wouldn’t pay attention to the holsters being used, but it directly relates to how realistic the movie is. I’ve seen a lot of gear used in cop movies that cops would never use.
Tactics vs. Reality: Does It Hold Up?
The Rip tries hard to be grounded, but it still falls into some classic movie drama. Director Joe Carnahan is known for gritty realism, and that shows in the staging of the raid. The way the team enters the stash house is deliberate and practiced. They use proper stacking and communication as they clear the rooms.
But the reality starts to blur once the $20 million in cash is discovered. In the real world, no narcotics team would stay in a hostile house to count that much cash. Standard protocol would be to secure the scene and transport the evidence to a secure facility.
The “tactics” of staying put make for a great movie plot, but they are a death sentence in real life. It turns the detectives into stationary targets for the cartel.
It’s still a Hollywood movie
One specific scene involving Ben Affleck has already sparked debate in the shooting world. He is shown firing an M4 one-handed out of a moving vehicle window. While it looks incredibly cool on camera, it is the opposite of good tactics.
Shooting an automatic rifle with one hand and hitting your target is nearly impossible in that position. It also ignores one of the most obvious liabilities. In a crowded Miami neighborhood, “spraying and praying” is a recipe for disaster.
Despite these thrill-riding Hollywood scenes, the film does capture the feeling of a “high-pressure” situation. A neighborhood where all the houses are rented or owned by the cartel is a real thing.
The reloads and use of cover are better than most action movies. They don’t have infinite ammunition, and they actually check their corners. It is a decent representation of “tactical noir” that respects the tools of trade.
Was it real?
Overall, I thought The Rip was a great action movie. While it has a lot of Hollywood action, it was based on a real event.
In 2016, a massive cash seizure was made by a Miami-Dade police detective, Captain Chris Casiano, who led a narcotics team. They really found cash hidden behind a wall, but the amount was actually more than it was in the movie. The team located $24 million inside 24 orange buckets.
This took place at the home of Luis Hernandez-Gonzalez, who owned a gardening supply store that served as a front for a massive marijuana operation. It remains the largest cash seizure in the department’s history.
To make things even more interesting, Captain Chris Casiano acted as an advisor for the film. It gives me a little more appreciation for directors who allow someone who was part of the real story to advise them for the movie.
If you like gun-thrilling, action-packed cop movies, you will no doubt like this one.
