The 2026 Action Thriller That Quentin Tarantino Can't Stop Raving About

Another day, another scorching hot take from Quentin Tarantino. Not content with squandering most of his credibility by slandering Paul Dano, the man is back to complain about the modern day movie-scape. Yes, Tarantino isn't a fan of contemporary films — unless, that is, you put Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in a middling streaming flick, in which case, he's all about it. That's right: The writer/director apparently loved when Affleck and Damon reunited for Joe Carnahan's grim Netflix movie "The Rip." Otherwise, he's pretty unimpressed.

Ever since Zach Woods "murdered" Tarantino, as Vulture put it, we should have collectively agreed to treat the guy's hot takes like a toddler tantrum. Just ignore it and eventually it will go away. But regardless of what you think of his opinions, the fact remains that Tarantino is one of the great filmmakers of the last several decades, which means people are going to listen no matter what. Now, we all have to hear about how "The Rip" is one of the best movies of the modern age, supposedly.

World of Reel reports that the latest issue of Sight and Sound includes an op-ed from the man himself, who apparently spends most of the essay lamenting the current state of filmmaking. But, according to the outlet, Tarantino also devotes three pages to praising "The Rip," which evidently "held [him] for its entire duration."

As controversial Quentin Tarantino movie takes go, the notion that modern day movies are missing something compared to films of previous decades surely isn't all that contentious. Tell me we haven't lost something as a culture when Kevin Hart's "Lift" is topping the Netflix charts. Still, great movies are out there, you just have to dig for them among the dross. Case in point: the best and most underrated movie of 2025, i.e. "Sovereign." Evidently, though, Tarantino isn't interested.

"I loved going to the movies," he explains in the op-ed. "These days, however, the concept of what is a movie is more inclined to inspire contempt in me than generosity. Which is fair enough, because by comparison the movies of the last six years make the '80s seem like the '30s." That last claim makes a somewhat coherent point, even if it's not quite the hammer blow Tarantino thinks it is. But it's what he writes next that truly baffles. Tarantino cites 2021's "West Side Story" and Chapters 1 and 2 of Kevin Costner's "Horizon: An American Saga" film series as having moved him in some way, before claiming "The Rip" was the only movie of the past few years that truly had him transfixed.

"A new movie has now come out that did grab me and held me for its entire duration," he writes. "Joe Carnahan's 'The Rip,' starring the dynamic duo of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck." The movie debuted in January 2026, kicking off the year with a serviceable crime thriller starring two Hollywood heavyweights that, to put it as diplomatically as possible, was exactly where it needed to be when it launched on Netflix. For Tarantino, however, it was an absolute triumph.

"The Rip" was ostensibly the first must-watch Netflix movie of 2026. But despite its impressive cast and "must-see" status, like so many Netflix films, it kind of came and went. The movie follows Ben Affleck's Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne, Matt Damon's Lieutenant Dane Dumars, and their Tactical Narcotics Team as they become barricaded in a Miami stash house following a raid. As the ordeal goes on, the group begin to suspect one another of ulterior motives, and their trust begins to fray.

The film landed itself a perfectly respectable 77% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, earning praise for its cast and action. As Jarrod Jones of the AV Club put it, "It functions comfortably enough as a dependable mid-tier action movie." Not according to Quentin Tarantino. The director was so taken with Joe Carnahan's movie that, according to World of Reel, he simply couldn't believe it when a friend expressed an opinion similar to Jones'.

Like anybody, Tarantino is welcome to like whatever he likes, and in all honesty, I welcome him decrying the state of modern filmmaking, if only because the inevitable backlash is sure to radiate the kind of heat needed to ultimately produce some light. If nothing held Tarantino in its grip and "swept him away to the magical land of enjoyment," then let's talk about it. If he'd "rather read a book" than watch a movie, great. Still, you've gotta wonder why "The Rip" of all movies had him so mesmerized. I think it's fair to say the film exhibits a few tendencies that you could argue represent the very degradation of filmmaking Tarantino is talking about, if only in how ephemeral it all felt amid the swell of "content."