My Review of "Rebel Ridge"

Rebel Ridge is a thrilling movie that came out recently in 2024. I say thrilling because you are at the edge of your seat wondering what's next. If you like the movie The Accountant or shows like Reacher, this is right up your alley. I was under the impression that this was going to be an all out violent movie but it isn't.

The movie starts out with a guy named Terry. He's innocently riding his bike but we don't know why. His headphones are on real loud so he can't really hear anything around him. It looks to be some police car right behind him and all of a sudden Terry eats dirt.

The police officer behind him had hit his bike to get him off his bike. Like most situations there are two sides of seeing this. First, Terry's headphones should not be so loud. Anyone driving on the street should be aware of their surroundings. It is common courtesy and good road safety. On the other hand, this is obscenely excessive force. The officer could have killed Terry attempting to hit his bike for what seems to be no reason.

What eventually happens is a series of miscommunication. Mistrust is the huge catalyst to their miscommunication. Terry is actually trying to do some good whereas the officers think otherwise. This opens a can of worms for the police because their small town is up to no good. Terry doesn't even want to be part of any of it but the police pushed him too far.

Pretty soon the story behind the small town gets unraveled. There's more deep secrets that are exposed and Terry keeps falling into this information. As much as Terry wants to get out of this deep secret they just keep sucking him right back into it. Unfortunately for the police they don't know who they're dealing with. Terry happens to have special skills that he doesn't like advertised but they pushed him to use them.

There's not a lot of violence but you will be put at the edge of your seat throughout the movie. Each reveal will have you gasping for more. It also helps that the cast does a great job in intensifying the stakes. They know how to make us like or dislike them. Each one of them does a fantastic job.

To add to the mix, they give this show a little air of realism. As crazy as this movie is, I could see this actually happening in real life. They did it in a way where you could believe this could happen. I like that each side also takes care of themselves by not going out and murdering everyone in plain sight. Each side plays around with the other. In some ways it feels like a cat and mouse game. Things are done more subtlety and more sneaky to avoid legal suspicion.

We also have characters that are morally ambiguous. You don't know which side of the fence they're on. Are they going to help our heroes or do they see the wrongs that they've done as law enforcers? It gives the show even more questions as the audience is engaged with the main story.

Overall, I'm surprised that this movie has fallen so far off the radar. This is actually a very well crafted movie. I think this movie deserves a lot more attention as it is very engaging and quite entertaining. Although I came into the movie with low expectations, I enjoyed it from start to finish. They really did a good job with the pacing and excitement. I have to give this movie an 8 out of 10. I would recommend it to others and would watch it again.