Rebel Ridge Movie Review: Despite the predictions not playing in its favor, Jeremy Saulnier's new film entitled Rebel Ridge, available on Netflix from September 6, 2024, was able to overturn them with the facts, convincing us and other skeptics like us of the quality of the result. The American director, famous for his previous works Blue Ruin and especially Green Room, who during his career also signed several episodes of the third season of True Detective, had recently made a splash with Hold the Dark, an adaptation he directed of the novel of the same name by William Giraldi, also distributed by the stars and stripes platform in 2018.
That slip had raised some doubts about his real abilities behind the camera, temporarily overshadowing how much good the Virginia filmmaker and screenwriter had been able to produce in the past. The negative criticism that rained down on his work at the time and the low level of approval recorded by subscribers to the Big N contributed to lowering expectations towards Rebel Ridge which, on the contrary, was able to make everyone change their minds a little, including us. Here then, like a boxer knocked out, Saulnier has managed to get back on his feet by bringing to the screens a well-made action thriller with which he seems to have returned to form, combative and lucid as in the old days.
In Rebel Ridge, director Jeremy Saulnier mixes suspense, mystery, social criticism, and action, stylistically referring to the action films of the 80s and 90s
The director of Alexandria has written and directed a film that manages, despite the two-hour timeline, to keep the viewer on duty. He did so by mixing suspense, mystery, social criticism, and action, referring precisely to the action films of the 80s and 90s that not only offer spectacle but manage to connect the chaos on the screen to a real and authentic emotional component that acts as a catalyst and a factor of involvement.
These ingredients were present in the two films that made his fortune but were missing in Hold the Dark, which he has reclaimed to package this latest effort. With and through these, along with the stylistic features and spirit of the genres of reference, Saulnier has given form and substance to a story centered on the man and his atavistic thirst for justice, that of a former marine named Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) who must make his way through a web of corruption in a small town called Shelby Springs when an attempt to post bail for his cousin turns into a violent standoff with the local police chief, one Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson).
A violent standoff ensues against him and his officers, who almost seem like henchmen of a criminal gang. The only unlikely ally Terry will find in that lawless town is courthouse clerk Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb), but together the two will find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that will awaken in the main character all the abilities of his mysterious past.
The physical and verbal duels between the characters played by Aaron Pierre and Don Johnson, in addition to the realistic action scenes, are the strong points of Rebel Ridge
The story on and around which the plot of Rebel Ridge revolves therefore starts as a common persecution, injustice, or abuse in today's America that for certain dynamics (the ex-soldier against the inhospitable police of a small town) brings to mind the first chapter of Rambo. Then a genetic mutation to which the author subjects the dramaturgy changes the cards on the table at the halfway point of the hour, transforming everything into one of those films like Wind River and Prisoners that are so popular with fans of intense thrillers and sharp action films. A recipe to which Saulnier adds a context and an atmosphere that recalls the literary, cinematic, and television stories of Jack Reacher in which justice is not at home and there is an extreme need to restore it.
Obviously, the “mission”, the dynamics, and the implications are very different from those within which the character created by Lee Child is called to move from time to time, but we feel we must highlight a parallel and some assonances with the figure born from the pen of Saulnier. Originality is therefore not the strong point of the Rebel Ridge menu, but how the author was able to assemble the ingredients and cook them made sure that the result was tasty and at times succulent as in the case of the physical and verbal face-to-face between the characters played effectively by Pierre and Johnson. Duels that end in a truly adrenaline-filled ballistic showdown in which we see the touch of Saulnier, known for his surprising visual style and realistic approach to action scenes. The epilogue in this sense is yet another demonstration.
Rebel Ridge: evaluation and conclusion
After the fall with Hold the Dark, director Jeremy Saulnier returns to the glories of his previous films, bringing to the screen a sharp and engaging action-thriller, which finds its best weapons in the realistic action scenes and in the mystery plot. In Rebel Ridge, the American filmmaker rediscovers the touch of the good old days and creates a story that is not particularly original from the point of view of the narrative, but in which he places man at the center and explores his atavistic need for justice and revenge.
The face-to-face confrontations between the characters played convincingly by Aaron Pierre and Don Johnson that lead to the pyrotechnic epilogue keep the tension always high, ensuring that the excessive duration of the timeline does not become an obstacle to enjoyment. The result is an audiovisual product that recalls the testosterone-fueled action films of the 80s and 90s, suitable for the type of audience that likes Jack Reacher-style missions or films like Wind River and Prisoners, in which action and thriller mix seamlessly.