Rebel Ridge is a new action movie out now following a former marine take on the corrupt legal system in the small town of Shelby Springs. In an attempt to post bail for his cousin, he ends up in a fight for not just his life, but for an entire community. Starring Aaron Pierre, AnnaSophia Robb, and Don Johnson, Rebel Ridge surprised me with how engaging its story was and how compelling its characters were.
When I first saw the trailer, I figured this was something of a modern Rambo spinoff. I don’t often give Netflix the benefit of the doubt because, let’s call a spade a spade, they’re a corporate machine with the sole goal of pumping out a profit. Yet with Rebel Ridge, there is something that feels incredibly personal. It is not a secret that law enforcement in America has corruption problems, especially in small towns where there are fewer eyes and fewer layers of accountability. I thought this would be nothing more than a classic Netflix shooter movie with our hero dismantling the corrupt system that wronged him guns blazing.
But I appreciated the more nuanced and thoughtful approach of director Jeremy Saulnier. Our protagonist Terry is a former Marine with expertise in close-quarters combat, yet only resorts to physical violence when his life is threatened. He goes through all the ludicrous hurdles the police put in front of him to try to free his cousin, even willing to give up $26,000 just to keep his bail money. Even with the action, Terry goes out of his way to not kill anyone.
This is where we get to the standouts of this movie: the performances. Aaron Pierre is truly incredible in this movie. His presence in every single scene can’t be ignored. His buttery smooth voice comforts you but its booming nature demands your respect. He can balance his respect for the police officers with the contempt he feels for their disrespect flawlessly. He has a monologue where he flips the power dynamic on Chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson) and it’s a moment where you feel the whole tone of the movie completely change. It’s no wonder that as more and more people have seen this movie, Aaron Pierre’s name is thrown out more in fan casts for Blade or John Stewart.
Speaking of Don Johnson, he plays this despicable villain so well. His corruption runs so deep to his core and it is ingrained in the system. His look just screams a small-town cop drunk on authority. I appreciate that the movie doesn’t make him just racist- I feel like in today’s climate it would’ve made the movie feel too real and could’ve made it come across as too preachy. Instead, he’s just a bad cop who should’ve been forced out of his job but found a way to survive.
All the supporting cast around them truly elevate the film as well. Whether it’s as a law clerk who will do what she knows is right with AnnaSophia Robb, a cop who is so corrupted by his superiors he is willing to kill his brothers in arms in Emory Cohen, or another cop who witnesses her peers commits crimes and dares to take down her boss in Zsane Jhe. They all did a great job making this stand out from the crowded Netflix portfolio.
I do feel like this movie struggles to pace itself. Within an hour, Terry’s main motivation is taken out of the picture, and we still have another hour of the movie to go. I didn’t necessarily feel like this was a movie that needed to be over 2 hours, especially with how muddled the transition between the second and third acts was. The movie was at its best in my opinion when Terry was going toe-to-toe with the cops, once they needed a secondary reason to keep him in Shelby Springs, the movie started to slip in my opinion.
The action in the movie is thoroughly engaging. The close-quarters combat is way more intriguing to me than a long-distance gunfight. There aren’t any car chases which in my book is a massive win, because I find those to be incredibly boring as well when they aren’t done creatively.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Rebel Ridge is going to be an easy movie to recommend to people. It has fun action, a compelling story, and a very talented cast, led by Aaron Pierre’s great performance. The last movie I saw with him was Foe so I’m really happy I can move on with my life with a positive impression of him. Do yourself a favor and check this movie out.
