'Rebel Ridge' Is A Rare Hit For Netflix And A Must-See
RATING: 91/100 - 7th out of 266 for 2024
"Even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while."
I know it is a cliche at this point to say Netflix releases bad movies, but we have far surpassed a time in which the streaming service deserves the benefit of the doubt. It's also worth noting that I am not including the movies released in theaters for a week or two, then put on Netflix, before intense Oscars campaigns ('Roma', 'The Irishman', and so on). Often times when those movies ('The Hit Man' a good example) come out, people go, "not bad for a Netflix movie!" The streaming service doesn't deserve that praise! Those are real in-theater movies, that just so happen to hit the platform a few weeks after release. I refuse to credit Netflix with those movies as "their own."
In 2024 alone, Netflix has released absolute fucking stinkers, including 'Unfrosted' (the Jerry Seinfeld Pop Tart movie), 'Scoop' (a horrible journalism biopic about the BBC's interview with Prince Andrew), 'Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (awful sequel to Zack Snyder's fake Star Wars movie), 'Rebel Moon - Chapter One: Chalice of Blood' (the director's cut of the awful fake Zack Snyder Star Wars movie), 'Lift' (terrible Kevin Hart plane heist movie)... I need to stop, you get the point.
Many of these movies, especially 'Rebel Moon', received absurd amounts of promotion and press from Netflix. The same can be said about some of their less-than-good shows, such as 'The Perfect Couple', a new fairly dreadful Nicole Kidman & Liev Schreiber mystery mini-series which I saw advertised on (I swear) 20+ trash cans (fitting!) while I on my walk the other day.
And yet, despite all of that, somehow, some way, Netflix managed to release, under-the-radar, one of 2024's best movies over the weekend in 'Rebel Ridge'.
From director Jeremy Saulnier, who helmed the underrated 2015 horror-thriller 'Green Room', the movie 'Rebel Ridge' is about, "a former Marine confronts corruption in a small town when local law enforcement unjustly seizes the bag of cash he needs to post his cousin’s bail." (via Letterboxd).
The movie stars Aaron Pierre (who will be a "newcomer" to many), the legendary Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb ('Terabithia', 'The Way Way Back'), David Denman (Roy from 'The Office), and a few other actors who all put in great performances.
This movie, which yes, sounds a lot like 'First Blood', is badass as hell, and most of all confident in the story it tells the audience. It's not afraid to be a bit of a slow burn off the top, because it is a movie that knows you will be absolutely hooked and on the edge of your seat from the opening tense scene. While it does sound a lot like the first Rambo movie, it features some twists and turns that separate it and make it feel entirely fresh and unique.
As the movie builds, the tension grows, and you'll find yourself sweating knowing that shit could just pop off at any given moment. All of the action and hand-to-hand combat are perfectly shot and displayed on screen. You feel very much mixed right into the action, and I wish for anything that I could've seen this in a movie theater. Without spoiling anything, there is a scene early on in the movie involving a confrontation that reaches a boiling point where I almost stood up out of my chair due to pure adrenaline just watching the scene unfold.
While everyone was great, Don Johnson really shines in the movie and should probably be considered for some Supporting Actor awards this fall (it won't be, mostly due to streaming vs. theaters rules for award shows). He's perfectly cast in this role and flexes his acting chops as the ideal antagonist for this story.
This is the shit Netflix should focus on more. I saw almost no promotion for this movie outside of Netflix's Twitter, and it has been word-of-mouth that has helped get this movie a little release weekend hype. Instead of putting all of its weight behind the 400th mailed-in Adam Sandler movie, or 'Rebel Moon - Part Three: Cauldron of Death based on the novel Push by Sapphire', how about giving a movie like 'Rebel Ridge', which has a premise & genre that audiences have loved for decades, more of a mainstream push? Give proven, hungry directors a chance to execute their confident vision, and give the people a reason to go to Netflix for a real movie.
Regardless, you should set aside any movie or TV show you've planned on watching and toss on 'Rebel Ridge'.