Rebel Ridge Movie Review

Rebel Ridge (2024)

Watch Rebel Ridge on Netflix
Written by: Jeremy Saulnier
Directed by: Jeremy Saulnier
Starring: Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, David DEnman
Rated: R
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Plot
An ex-Marine grapples his way through a web of small-town corruption when an attempt to post bail for his cousin escalates into a violent standoff with the local police chief.

Verdict
I loved this. I'm a fan of Saulnier, and this movie only cements why. This is exhausting because it's so intense. Every scene is filled with anticipation and dread of what comes next, and this is relentless in that regard. From the very first scene there's trouble and this seems like a modern First Blood when a veteran runs afoul of a couple of cops that don't want him in town. From there things escalate and this movie never plays out quite like you'd think. The writing is sharp, though there is a lot of dialog for an action movie. That's not bad, it serves to build the suspense. This could be shorter as it takes a bit of time to explain the conspiracy. Still, every scene is so loaded, and it's one of the few movies I wanted to immediately watch again.
Watch It.

Review
Saulnier is one of those directors where I'll watch whatever he makes. I've seen all of his movies, even his first one Murder Party. My favorites would be Blue Ruin and Green Room, but Rebel Ridge might now hold the top spot.

This wastes no time as the cops pull over Terry (Aaron Pierre) while he's bicycling. They're aggressive from the start and annoyed that he knows his rights. This is a similar set up to First Blood where a veteran passing through town is harassed by cops. Terry is posting bail for his cousins, but the police would rather confiscate the bail money by civil forfeiture. Police can confiscate any money they suspect is related to drugs; all they need is suspicion not proof.

Aaron Pierre plays Terry Richmond

You can see Terry becoming frustrated, and with this being a Saulnier movie I was waiting for this to break. I assumed Terry would end up going on a warpath to free his cousin. Instead he complies, but then exacerbates the situation the next day. He reports a theft, and he had to know what he was doing. He's messing with the cops and in turn they mess with him, delaying him from bailing out his cousin. Terry must post bail for his cousin's protection. With no other option, Terry confronts Chief Burnne (Don Johnson). The scene between the two is great. You know Burnne underestimates Terry and we know Terry is desperate. The tension keeps building, and that makes this scene powerful. The cops slowly realize what they're up against, but it's too late as Terry turns the situation. What now?

Don Johnson plays Chief Sandy Burnne

This movie is so good, so masterfully directed, that I wondered how it could possibly maintain the pace and intensity. Terry's on a mad dash to bail out his cousin, but his plan wasn't just to bail out his cousin. Terry is detained and gets a speech from Burnne about why this is one of the last police stations in the area and other excuses for how it operates. Every scene is loaded, one match away from exploding. This takes so many unexpected turns, playing with our expectations. Even when I realize the movie is closing in on something, when it happens I'm shocked.

Focusing on corrupt cops certainly seems like social commentary on police, but by the end the message is how it just takes one corrupt cop to turn others. People follow the leader.

This has a lot of dialog for what you think is an action movie. It's not bad as it builds an incredible amount of suspense. I don't think there should be more action, and I appreciate how this twists the genre. More action would just dilute what we get, but this movie does get long after Terry is run out of town. It's not bad, it  just drags after such an intense first half. It's too much explanation for the conspiracy that's not really needed.

This movie is why I'm a huge fan of Saulnier. I also really enjoyed Aaron Pierre, now anticipating his next movie. I didn't realize he played Mid-size Sedan in Old. The writing really makes this as it toys with expectations. So few movies are so intense for this long; this movie tires you out. That's a credit to the directing.