Netflix churns out SO MUCH content every week but few are actually worth watching, so it’s nice when something comes along that ends up being a pleasant surprise. The main draw for me was London-born Aaron Pierre, who I first saw in the dystopian sci-fi drama FOE with Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal. The three made up an interesting trio and I was quite mesmerized by Pierre’s sheer, um, screen presence.

Thus I was thrilled to see him cast as the lead in writer/director Jeremy Saulnier’s latest movie Rebel Ridge. The premise about small-town corruption is something we’ve seen before, but a well-trodden narrative can still feel fresh when it’s done right.

The movie starts in a way that immediately makes your blood boil. Set in a fictional Southern small town Shelby Springs, former Marine Terry Richmond is on his bike, minding his own business, when a cop car aggressively trails him. Suddenly the car slams into the back of his bike, sending Terry tumbling to the ground. Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, the two cops (David Denman and Emory Cohen) started hurling insults at him and swiped the $36k he had saved up to bail his cousin out.

The fact that Terry is black and the officers are white definitely raises some red flags about police brutality for me, but the movie dives deeper into a tangled mess of small-town corruption that spirals out of control when they choose the wrong person to mess with.

I see people on social media likening Terry to Black Rambo, given that he’s a skilled martial artist with an uncanny calmness, almost like a reserved (or TikTok-era would say demure) version of Rambo. Terry stays cool and collected, only striking back when absolutely necessary. Despite being treated in the worst possible way by the cops and police chief (a slimy Don Johnson), he constantly seeks to de-escalate the situation.

Terry gained an ally in courthouse clerk Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb, sporting a thick Southern accent) who’s sympathetic to his cause but soon realizes she’s out of her depth when the corrupt chief and his cohorts come after her, too. There’s a good rapport between Terry and Summer without descending into a corny romance. Saulnier makes it easy to root for them as they’re put into the wringer in their fight for justice.

While some might want more action or violence, I’m actually glad that Saulnier’s more restrained here. This is my intro to the Virginian-born filmmaker whose thrillers Blue Ruin and Green Room were critical darlings. From what I’ve gathered, Saulnier usually goes all out with intense, graphic violence in his films, but he switches things up by keeping this thriller more on the tame side. A more action-oriented director would’ve easily opted for absolute mayhem and crazy shootouts, but the body count here is surprisingly low.

What really stands out is how Saulnier keeps the suspenseful and tense vibe throughout, with the help of the pulsating drum-heavy score by brothers Brooke and Will Blair. It perfectly complements the action that also works in the quieter moments. The fight scene in the third act, albeit a bit chaotic, is quite exciting to watch as Terry really lets it rip. The action isn’t sensational as Saulnier doesn’t rely heavily on special effects. If I have to nitpick, however, the series of bureaucratic antics and endless game of tag between Terry and the corrupt gang gets quite frustrating by the end.

I read that John Boyega was originally cast as Terry but dropped out halfway through filming in 2021. I for one think the film works for the better with his replacement. A new action star is born in the classically-trained Pierre. Despite his superheroic, brawny appearance of 6’3” Pierre, one of Terry’s superpowers is his calm under pressure, not to mention those hypnotic piercing eyes.

I love the understated way Saulnier shows Terry’s immense, there’s a scene where he catches a fish from a river with his bare hands that takes my breath away. He’s the kind of cerebral action star with layers of vulnerability that I’d love to see more of. At the same time, I hope the LAMDA graduate won’t get typecast in action roles as I’d love to see him display his versatile acting chops.

Rebel Ridge is definitely one of the best Netflix features I’ve seen this year. A slow-burn adrenaline-fueled thriller that dives into the deep-rooted injustices in small-town America, packed with righteous anger and nail-biting suspense.

Have you seen REBEL RIDGE? What did you think?

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