Netflix shares sneak peek of The Rip starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck delivered a Christmas gift to fans on December 25 via a video shared by Netflix. The two Hollywood stars appeared in the clip, with Affleck holding a big gift-wrapped box and Damon holding a football.

It opens with Damon saying that they have a gift for the fans, a "never-before-seen footage from The Rip." Meanwhile, Affleck joked that he was going to give away some socks. Their banter serves as an introduction to the new sneak peek of their upcoming movie. 

The footage introduces Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as police officers doing a raid and making a discovery that could change the trajectory of their careers and lives. It brings their characters deep into the high-stakes tension within a team of Miami cops and a potential betrayal. 

The Rip sneak peeks put Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's characters and integrity in question

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are Miami cops in The Rip. And the new teaser of their upcoming crime thriller sets up the movie's storyline that puts their integrity in question. It shows them amongst other cops going into a derelict stash house only to discover millions in cash. 

Then someone in the background suggests that it would be easier if they would just steal the money - it could be Damon's character. The sneak peek may be brief but it quickly establishes the tone of the story. There's tension, uneasy alliances, and danger as loyalty is questioned and the team is weighed down by their decisions. 

The two men - Damon and Affleck - and their relationship are the driving force of the story. There are tense conversations and while loyal to each other in a sense that they are working on the same team - there's an underlying tension between the two that teases an inevitable conflict.

What is The Rip all about?

As teased in the new footage, The Rip follows Miami cops headed by Damon and Affleck's characters who discover millions in cash from a stash house. That discovery leads to a winding road of potential betrayal and danger. The description from Netflix further teases the plot: 

"The Rip rollers a team of Miami cops who have discovered millions in cash in a derelict stash house. Some, the truth between them begins to erode, especially once outside forces learn about the size of the seizure. Everything is called into question - including who they can rely on."

Writer and director Joe Carnahan explained to Netflix Tudum in September that The Rip takes inspiration from Serpico, Prince of the City and Michael Mann's Heat. He added that he also took some inspiration from the story of a police officer who is a "very dear friend."

Carnahan said that his friend was the one who taught him about "rips." It's a term cops use when they seize illegal weapons, drugs, or like in the movie, lots of cash. 

Ben Affleck plays Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne and Matt Damon plays his partner in the force, Lieutenant Dane Dumars. Tudum noted that Damon in the movie is "essentially playing the doppelgänger" of Carnahan's police officer friend. 

The Rip will be streaming on Netflix on January 16. It features a star-studded cast, some of whom appear in the new sneak peek, like Teyana Taylor. Other cast members include Sasha Calle, Scott Adkins and Steven Yeun.