‘Rebel Ridge’ Review: Jeremy Saulnier’s Masterful Netflix Film Is a Sharp, Exhilarating Thrill Ride

When Sir Isaac Newton wrote his three famous laws — about objects set in motion by an outside force, objects accelerating, and objects colliding — I suspect he wasn’t talking about physics. He was probably talking about Jeremy Saulnier’s new thriller “Rebel Ridge.”

“Rebel Ridge” is a masterpiece of conflict and tension, a crime thriller that begins with a tiny act and gradually builds momentum, never taking an obvious path, until it finally reaches a natural, but gigantic conclusion. On its face it’s a standard thriller about corrupt cops and a heroic ex-marine seeking justice. At its core… that’s what it is too. But it’s as excellent and as smart and as meaningful as a movie with those tried-and-true tropes can possibly be.

Aaron Pierre (“Old”) stars as Terry Richmond, who in the film’s opening moments is hauling ass on his bicycle, Iron Maiden blasting through his headphones. He doesn’t hear the police siren wailing behind him, and when the cop car collides with his bike, Terry collapses on the road. When searched — because of course he’s searched — they find $36,000 in cash. When Terry says it’s for his cousin’s bail, they ask what he was arrested for, and when they find out it was marijuana possession, they seize the funds and claim they were being used in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

At first, writer/director Saulnier’s film is a frank and educational drama about the evils of civil asset forfeiture, which enables the police to seize property and makes it damn near impossible for anyone to get it back. And since Terry’s cousin is being transferred to a maximum security prison, where he has enemies who want to kill him, Terry has a seemingly impossible task ahead. He must try to navigate the impenetrable criminal justice system, aided only by a legal clerk named Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb, “The Act”) and opposed by a cocksure local police chief, Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson). And he has to do it in just a few days. Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Saulnier wrings suspense out of paperwork. He wrings suspense out of police statements. He wrings suspense out of every aspect of this unholy bureaucracy, and when Terry finally gets pushed too far, Saulnier finds a way to give his film an electrifying, pulse-pounding, complex climax that’s wholly, breathtakingly satisfying.

And that’s when you realize that “Rebel Ridge” is only half over.

Ordinarily that’s when a film might be in trouble, having burned too brightly and too quickly, but “Rebel Ridge” is only just getting started. Saulnier’s ingeniously plotted screenplay finds intense, plausible ways to move his pieces back onto the board, and kick what was already an enthralling game into beast mode. Canny, naturalistic dialogue segues tidily into heroic badassery and back again. Thrilling action gives way to serious, thoughtful consideration to the consequences of that action, and back again.

Aaron Pierre is an excellent dramatic lead, quiet and pensive, intelligent enough to know when not to resort to violence. Moral enough to know when that time has come. He’s got the fascinating determination of a young Clint Eastwood, rolling into town, steered immediately into conflict with sleazy yahoos who have no idea they picked a fight with the wrong man. “Rebel Ridge” is a gripping modern Western, with no small amount of “First Blood” thrown in the mix. And it’s angry about all the right things.

There’s an annoying and extremely misguided expression that some people use when talking about movies: “Why can’t you just turn your brain off and enjoy the film?” That’s an odd way to say that your movie could only be enjoyed by someone in a coma. Movies are actively trying to engage you, to stimulate your senses, to evoke memories and feelings, to grab your attention by any means possible. To just sit there and accept everything you’re given without thought or question is defeatist. You’re giving away your right to have standards. You’re just taking whatever you get, good or bad, and while that’s hardly a sin, you still deserve better than that.

A film like “Rebel Ridge” reminds us that you can lose yourself in exciting, engaging, stimulating entertainment while still keeping your brain completely on. When a film is smartly crafted and thrillingly executed, you can actively engage with every single part of it. Your questions about the characters and their story have satisfying answers, no apologies necessary. The action here is riveting yet grounded, and while there’s no reason to critique an action movie just for being outlandish — many of the best action movies are — to find a filmmaker like Jeremy Saulnier crafting the same thrills out of plausible scenarios is like finding bigfoot. You always suspected it was out there somewhere, but you assumed finding it wouldn’t be easy.

And yet, here it is. “Rebel Ridge” is one hell of a thriller, one exceptional drama, and one excellent motion picture. It’s the best Netflix movie with the title “Rebel [Blank],” and if you had a dime for every one of those you’d have fifty cents. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened five times.

“Rebel Ridge” premieres on Netflix on Sept. 6

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