Quentin Tarantino has never been shy about turning a movie opinion into a small controlled explosion. This is the same filmmaker who has criticized the “Marvelization” of Hollywood, questioned George Clooney’s movie-star status and set off a whole discourse grenade when he called Paul Dano “weak sauce” in There Will Be Blood. That take got enough attention that Yorgos Lanthimos later weighed in, saying people didn’t need to “pile on” the director because Dano’s work speaks for itself. So when he actually praises a new movie, it's somewhat surprising. And I didn't see him loving a recent Ben Affleck streaming movie.
According to Variety, Tarantino wrote for Sight & Sound magazine about his frustration with modern Hollywood, saying it has become “almost impossible” for him to watch a 2026 movie calendar release without picking it “to death.” So naturally, I did not expect the movie to break through his wall of grumpiness to be The Rip, a recent Netflix cop thriller starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. He wrote:
A suspenseful new movie has come out that did grab me and held me for its entire duration. The film is an exciting cop thriller with a novel premise that manages to deliver the goods in really clever ways. The whole package worked for me: Carnahan’s direction, the splendid cast, the look of the film (courtesy of cinematographer Juan Miguel Azpiroz) – but the real powerhouse component of this splendid collection is the sensational screenplay by Carnahan and Michael McGrale.
From Tarantino, that glowing review is practically a parade with a brass section. Part of what makes this so funny is that his modern movie complaints have become their own genre of entertainment news. For instance, he has taken shots at new superhero movie actors, saying they're not the real stars of Marvel movies.
So, yes, the Django Unchained director/writer praising The Rip feels surprising. The movie, directed by Joe Carnahan, follows two Miami-Dade law enforcement officers who uncover corruption tied to $20 million in cartel cash. Along with Affleck and Damon, the cast includes Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle and Kyle Chandler. It also sounds like exactly the kind of genre setup he might enjoy, as the filmmaker touched on similar subject matter in some of Tarantino's best movies.
Tarantino did not just toss out a vague compliment and move on. He praised the movie’s whole construction. The opinionated moviemaker can roast modern Hollywood all he wants, but he is still a screenplay guy. Give him structure, tension and characters trapped inside a premise with teeth and apparently even a new Netflix movie can get past the gate.
It also helps explain why The Rip landed for him in a way so many new movies apparently do not. It’s not a film built to feed a franchise spreadsheet, as it is a lean, mean cop thriller with enough craft to remind the Jackie Brown director why he likes those movies in the first place.
So, no, I did not have Quentin Tarantino becoming one of the loudest recent supporters of a Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Netflix crime drama on my bingo card. But maybe that is what makes the praise so interesting. For a filmmaker who sounds exhausted by almost everything new, The Rip did the one thing that still matters: it held his attention.
The Rip is now streaming with a Netflix subscription.
