Rebel Ridge, Netflix’s Civil Asset Forfeiture Revenge Flick, Is a Thrilling Political Action Movie
Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge is the rarest of things: a taut, tense thriller packed with rip-roaring action that is also a detailed and believably accurate story about public policy.Â
Specifically, it’s about civil asset forfeiture and small-town municipal budget corruption.Â
Yes, this is a civil asset forfeiture revenge film. Rebel Ridge follows an ex-Marine with a very special set of skills, who gets knocked over by a pair of local cops and effectively robbed of the large bag of cash he’s carrying to bail out his cousin and set himself up with a new life. But because the cops say they suspect it’s drug money, the robbery is perfectly, infuriatingly legal.Â
Rebel Ridge, which debuted on Netflix last week, is both smart and immaculately crafted, with a series of methodical buildups that come together for some of the most satisfying, electrifying action beats of the year. It’s part Taken, part Jack Reacher, and a whole lot of Rambo in First Blood, though it never feels derivative.Â
The film starts when Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) gets unceremoniously knocked off his bicycle by a small-town squad car. The cops say he fled, and they use the threat of wasting hours of his time to get him to allow a search of his bag. The bag, it turns out, contains $36,000, ten of which is for bailing out a cousin who, because he was once a cooperating witness, would be a marked man if he went to jail. The rest is to start a small business.Â
Because his cousin was charged with a drug offense, the cops seize the cash, claiming they suspect it’s related to illegal drug activity. With the help of a friendly local court clerk (AnnaSophia Robb), Richmond learns he has the right to sue to get it back, but that would take months and cost more than what he lost. And if he fights the seizure, the cops threaten to hit him with a bevy of charges that could land him in jail.Â
Richmond tries to negotiate with the local police chief, Sandy Burnne—played with cocky, infuriating menace by Don Johnson (yes, that Don Johnson)—maki
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