Quentin Tarantino has been known for outspoken opinions about modern Hollywood, often criticizing new studio trends, superhero films, and current movie releases. But in a rare positive reaction, he praised Joe Carnahan’s Netflix crime thriller The Rip, calling it a suspenseful new movie that grabbed his attention from start to finish.
According to a report from Variety, Tarantino wrote in Sight & Sound magazine that it has become “almost impossible” for him to watch many recent releases without picking them apart. His praise for The Rip therefore stood out, especially because the film is a contemporary streaming release starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Tarantino described the movie as an exciting cop thriller with a “novel premise” that delivers in clever ways, and he highlighted the direction, cast, cinematography and screenplay as major strengths.
The film, directed by Joe Carnahan, follows two Miami-Dade law enforcement officers who uncover corruption connected to $20 million in cartel money. Along with Affleck and Damon, the cast includes Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle and Kyle Chandler. The story’s mix of crime, suspense and character-driven tension appears to have appealed to Tarantino’s long-standing love of tightly built genre filmmaking.
His reaction is notable because Tarantino has often made headlines for harsh comments about modern movies and movie stars. He has criticized the “Marvelization” of Hollywood and questioned the prominence of some contemporary actors, making his enthusiastic response to The Rip unusual. Rather than offering a vague compliment, he praised the film’s overall construction and specifically singled out the screenplay by Carnahan and Michael McGrale.
That focus on writing fits Tarantino’s own filmmaking sensibilities. He has long been admired as a director who values sharp dialogue, structure and pressure-cooker storytelling, and The Rip seems to have delivered those elements in a way that broke through his skepticism about current cinema. For a filmmaker who often sounds frustrated with the state of modern releases, the Netflix thriller succeeded by doing something simple but difficult: keeping his attention.
The reaction also adds a humorous twist to the ongoing entertainment conversation around Tarantino’s public film opinions. His blunt critiques usually attract as much attention as his movies do, so when he praises a new title, it becomes noteworthy. In this case, The Rip landed on Netflix as a crime thriller that not only found an audience but also won over one of Hollywood’s most famously hard-to-please directors.
The praise suggests that even in an era Tarantino often finds disappointing, a strong screenplay, a solid cast and a well-executed genre premise can still make an impact. The Rip is now streaming on Netflix.
