Rebel Ridge

As I don't really have any significant connection to Beetlejuice, I opted to skip it's successful opening weekend and instead focus on some other life-to-dos (like building a crib!). Rebel Ridge was an easy watch given its access on Netflix. Perhaps I'll make time for Beetlejuice another day, but this weekend had to suffice with this Netflix actioner. 

Rebel Ridge is an easy watch that feels similar to an episode of Reacher. Given some of the reviews I've been seeing, it feels a touch overprasied as this is a good, not great film that will likely leave fans seeking intense action wanting (despite what the silhouette poster on the left would suggest).

Within minutes, we're introduced to Terry (Aaron Pierre) and his dilemma of being abusively stopped by two policemen and forced to give up the bail money he had set aside for his brother. Terry himself is a military man and after trying to go about things the lawful way, he realizes that he needs to take matters into his own hands, non-lethally. 

If there's something Rebel Ridge does very well, it's Aaron Pierre. He's not necessarily "new" to the scene, but I do believe this could be an actioner that gives him some leading man credentials. He's stoic and calm as Terry, but with an underlying surface of talent and violence. He grows on you as a character and is easy to root for, largely because of Pierre's performance. 

The rest of the film is a compelling, yet overlong thriller that never feels as elevated as its star. The premise is timely, yet it doesn't feel like it does much with it. The action can be awesome, but there's very little of it. Humor is light, and the ending feels like it ends with an abrupt whimper. A more effective version of this film would have been 100-110 minutes where you keep all the action beats. You could have gotten the entire story across, increased the % of action, and kept things moving. At its current 2+ hour run time, it can feel a bit void.  

A truly rapid review, as I often don't have all that much to say about middling movies. Netflix's Rebel Ridge is satisfying, if not a bit forgettable. Praise for Aaron Pierre is well deserved, but "one of Netflix's best" praise for the film is not a sentiment I share. 

Rapid Rath's Review Score | 6.5/10