He drew acclaim from cinephiles with the release of his stunning revenge film 'Blue Ruin', then followed it up with the exceptionally brutal thriller 'Green Room', now director Jeremy Saulnier is back with a trailer for the upcoming Netflix actioner 'Rebel Ridge', and it has instantly become one of my most anticipated films of 2024.
The film follows Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre), an ex-Marine who is robbed by corrupt police officers while attempting to post bail for his cousin Mike (C.J. LeBlanc). When Richmond attempts to report the robbery at the local precinct, he lands squarely in the crosshairs of the local police chief (Don Johnson).
If you've seen any movies like this before, you just know Richmond is going to take his Marine skills and give the police chief a war he won't believe. After all, the film's tagline is "He didn't start this fight, but he will finish it."
His second film for Netflix following 2018's disappointing 'Hold the Dark', which starred Jeffrey Wright and Alexander Skarsgård, 'Rebel Ridge' looks like a return to form for Saulnier, judging by the action-packed trailer below.
Seasoned action fans will immediately draw parallels between 'Rebel Ridge' and 'First Blood', the masterful first entry in Sylvester Stallone's 'Rambo' series — that film saw a PTSD-stricken Vietnam vet (Stallone) pushed too far by a sheriff (Brian Dennehy) on a power trip, leading him to wage a one-man war against the local law enforcement pursuing him.
While 'Rebel Ridge' is clearly inspired by 'First Blood', the film takes an entirely modern approach to a familiar premise, updating it for today's audiences in a number of ways. For one, 'Rebel Ridge' focuses on institutional corruption — specifically the way that the local cops immediately turn on him once they realize he's reporting two of their own.
Secondly, it's probably no coincidence that Richmond is a black man, and we have to imagine that race will factor into the film's story, even if it's only in the form of subtext. Between his roles in 'Machete', 'Django Unchained' and HBO's 'Watchmen' series, Don Johnson has played a number of racist characters of late, and it seems entirely likely that his police chief will be yet another one.
If there's one area of concern regarding 'Rebel Ridge', it's that the film had some troubles during production — original star John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) dropped out while filming was underway, citing "family reasons", though there were reports from insiders who claim that he wasn't happy with the script (or, less importantly, his hotel accommodations). The actor's representation denies these accusations.
Still, I'm incredibly excited to see 'Rebel Ridge' when it arrives on Netflix on September 6, 2024. Not only is 'First Blood' one of my favorite films of all time, I also consider Saulnier's 'Blue Ruin' and 'Green Room' to be two of the best thrillers of this century to date. Here's hoping he delivers another winner here.
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