Rebel Ridge - Thoughts on a non-horror

 

Movie review by Paris.

There are spoilers scattered around below.

Rebel Ridge's reputation seemed to proceed it.  I saw hype about the director of Green Room making a Rambo for the modern era!  I saw headlines like this one: "How Netflix’s Rebel Ridge navigates America’s two biggest taboos"  I am thinking, alright I am down with this, I love guerrilla action and corrupt police being put in their place.  A Rambo type movie made with BLM sympathies?  Sounds good!  But there's also the small detail about this being a Netflix movie.  I don't have a lot of faith in Netflix productions,  they never seem to take risks, always trying for broad appeal...

Movie is decent enough, the small town police are hateable, in a way that feels quite realistic.  Their seizure of property and manipulation of the law I am sure is taken from life.  The big action scene was good!  When he cocks the shotgun 5 times while walking to the camera there's a real Oh Shit's about to go down feeling.  I liked how modern technology like pre-recording and automatic dash cams were integrated into the story and action.  But breaking taboos?

Instead of challenging our institutions it embraces them.  The movie goes out of its way to make sure we understand these small town corrupt cops are unique small town corrupt cops.  They are frightened of the state police finding out about their actions; the State coming in and taking over the local police is presented as a way to eliminate corruption, which, I don't think is how wresting control from locals has been used in the past. And even weirder (spoilers), when the truly vile bearded cop and the chief are incompacitated(not killed, our hero never kills), the rest of the police department turns and honors their oaths.  Don't worry middle America!  The police aren't the problem, this was just a bad place!  And even then it was only like 2 guys!  No ACAB here!

Also, what does our hero do at his lowest point?  Return to the comfort of the US military.  He walks into his old employer past a van where he reaches out and literally caresses the emblem of the US Marines on the back of a car.  THIS is his guiding light, you know that famously Ethical, Just and Force for Good that is the United States Military.  Just ONE person from the military can clean up this town, just imagine what we can do with a whole army!  Maybe...stabilize a nation?

Now look at that point of comparison everyone had: 1982's Rambo First Blood.  Those small town cops didn't hide their bigotry or corruption, and proudly posed for a photo they assumed would be published publically in Soldier of Fortune Magazine.  But even worse was the military, which chewed Rambo up and spit him out full of trauma.  The federal government that threw him into a foreign war, but refused to care for him at home.  This is an America that failed Rambo from the smallest local level all the way up to the highest reaches of government.  It saddens me that after the illegal Iraq War, the occupation of Afghanistan,  the patriot act, 4 years of trump, BLM, etc. Netflix can't make a movie as critical of our institutions as a movie from 1983.  This is the movie that is supposed to break taboos?  Very disappointing, but par for the course for Nexflix.