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THE RIP. (L to R) Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne and Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars in The Rip.<\/p>\n
Claire Folger\/Netflix<\/p>\n
Netflix\u2019s new crime thriller The Rip is now streaming<\/a>, with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck starring as two Miami cops who stumble upon a massive stash of cash at a cartel house. The film is inspired by an actual incident involving the Miami-Dade Police Department, but how much of it is true?<\/p>\n In The Rip, Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon) and Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne (Affleck), members of the Tactical Narcotics Team (TNT), come across $20 million in cartel money in a derelict stash house. Under Miami law, they are required to count it before leaving the premises.<\/p>\n ForbesThe Best New TV Shows Streaming In January 2026 On Netflix, HBO Max And MoreBy Monica Mercuri<\/a><\/p>\n The cops and their team have only a limited amount of time to count the money before the dangerous men who stashed it there return to claim it. As they count the cash, trust within the squad begins to fracture. \u201cThey have to count the money not knowing necessarily who to trust, including one another,\u201d writer-director Joe Carnahan told Netflix\u2019s Tudum<\/a>.<\/p>\n The cast includes Damon, Affleck, Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Sasha Calle, N\u00e9stor Carbonell, Lina Esco, Scott Adkins and Kyle Chandler.<\/p>\n Is The Rip Based On A True Story?<\/p>\n THE RIP. (L to R) Steven Yeun as Detective Mike Ro, Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars, Writer\/Director Joe Carnahan, Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne and Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Mateo ‘Matty’ Nix on the set of The Rip.<\/p>\n Claire Folger\/Netflix<\/p>\n Yes, The Rip is based on the true story of Chris Casiano, a real Miami cop who discovered a massive sum of money stashed in a house while serving as head of the Miami-Dade Police Department\u2019s Tactical Narcotics Team.<\/p>\n The cash was hidden in containers inside the walls \u201cthat they sledgehammered out,\u201d Carnahan explained to Gold Derby<\/a>, adding that \u2014 just like in the film \u2014 there was also a dog outside barking and going nuts. \u201cI just thought that was really wild. I had never experienced a cop story like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Casiano was a close friend of Carnahan and his experience inspired the director to create the movie. “The Rip came out of a deeply personal experience that my friend went through, both as a father and as head of tactical narcotics for the Miami Dade police department,\u201d Carnahan explained<\/a> to Netflix.<\/p>\n Carnahan added that he was also inspired by classic 1970s cop thrillers \u201cthat really valued the character and interpersonal relationships and became touchstones of that era \u2014 films like Serpico and Prince of The City and more recently, Michael Mann\u2019s Heat,\u201d he told Tudum.<\/p>\n Who Was Jake William Casiano?<\/p>\n In The Rip, Damon\u2019s character, who is loosely based on Casiano, is grieving the loss of his 10-year-old son, Jake, to cancer. This storyline is inspired by Casiano\u2019s real-life son, Jake William Casiano, who died of leukemia in 2021. The film is dedicated to Jake.<\/p>\n Carnahan opened up to Decider<\/a> about how he approached telling such a deeply personal story.<\/p>\n \u201cHe [Casiano] lost his son, unfortunately, very tragically, to cancer at 11. [The movie] was me trying to conceive something that would help my friend deal with grief\u2014the crushing, agonizing, sadness that that would bring,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a parent\u2019s worst nightmare. Nobody wants to outlive their child. I can\u2019t think of a worse fate. [This was] a clumsy way of trying to give him something. Through art, we could build a memorial, a monument, to Jake and his time here\u2014his short, 11-year life.\u201d<\/p>\n Carnahan told Gold Derby that when he showed Casiano the film before its release, they both became emotional, calling the experience \u201ccathartic and amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really important to me that [Jake] be the first name you see, because you understood that there was a beating heart at the center.\u201d<\/p>\n What Is Fictionalized In The Rip?<\/p>\n THE RIP. (L to R) Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars and Ben Affleck as Det Sergeant J.D. Byrne in The Rip.<\/p>\n Warrick Page\/Netflix<\/p>\n While the basic concept of The Rip \u2014 officers finding millions in cartel money and being required to count it \u2014 is true, most of what unfolds in the film, including the corruption, dirty cops, and the confrontation over the money, is not.<\/p>\n Although Carnahan confirmed that the dirty-cop storyline was made up, he noted that \u201call that stuff about counting [the money] on the seizure, on scene,\u201d is absolutely true. In the real situation, he revealed, it took 42 hours to count the cash.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re required to count it twice, actually, by hand. The real rip\u2014Sasha\u2019s character [Desi, played by Sasha Calle], in real life, that was an older man,\u201d he explained. \u201cAt some point they sat this guy down to start counting. [Laughs.] They had to get the guy that owned the place also counting! If you\u2019re off by a dollar, Internal Affairs gets involved. This is a very real thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Carnahan added that his responsibility was to \u201ctake the elements of it that I thought were cinematic and parse through it.\u201d Since they couldn\u2019t make a 42-hour film, \u201ccertain things were expedited, certain things were snipped, and so on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n