Reviews now on YouTube! | Watch here

Larsen On Film

  • Review Library
  • Subscribe
  • Why I’m Wrong
  • About
  • Books

Rebel Ridge

 

Hot damn is this thing cathartic—a wishful-thinking action thriller in which a lone man goes up against a racist, corrupt, small-town police force and wins the day. Rebel Ridge stars Aaron Pierre as Terry, a former Marine who is stopped by police in a Louisiana burg while en route with cash to bail out his cousin. They seize the money; things escalate. Writer-director Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin, Green Room) lets the racial tension largely simmer beneath the surface (Terry is Black), leaning into his trademark, straight-ahead propulsive style. (Although a side plot involving AnnaSophia Robb as a sympathetic courthouse clerk detracts from the efficiency without adding much in return.) One wishes for more from Don Johnson as the police chief—he mostly seems exhausted by his own malfeasance—because Pierre could have used a more convincing onscreen opponent. He’s an indomitable force as Terry, remarkably calm and polite at first—even willing to play along—until he’s pushed over the edge. His terse replies begin to accumulate attitude, until he eventually explodes into the righteous avenger we’ve been waiting for. “Did I put too much sauce on that?” he asks a cowed bad cop near the climax. Pierre deserves to be putting sauce on many more movies after this.

(11/6/2024)

Recent Reviews

The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)

Drama Rated NR

“There is a purity … that gives it a transcendental aura.”

La Ricotta (1963)

Drama Rated NR

“… about modernity’s failure and inability to take the crucifixion seriously—to say nothing of Jesus’ words about caring for the poor.”

One Battle After Another (2025)

Drama Rated R

“… understands the urgency of this moment.”


Search Review Library

Sponsored by the following | become a sponsor



SUBSCRIBE


Sign up to receive emails

Sign up to get new reviews and updates delivered to your inbox!

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!




FOLLOW ONLINE



All rights reserved. All Content ©2024 J. Larsen
maintained by Big Ocean Studios

TOP