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When a young Black marine attempts to rescue his cousin from a corrupt small-town police department, he finds the only way to destroy the evil is to burn it all down. This is the gritty 1st trailer for Rebel Ridge.
The trailer opens on a young Black man being unjustly jailed by a corrupt police force led by Chief Burnne (Don Johnson), in the quaint little town of Shelby Springs. When his cousin Terry (Aaron Pierre) arrives to post his bail, Chief Burnne seizes his savings and orders him out of town.
source: Netflix
While working with a good-hearted court clerk (AnnaSophia Robb) to rescue his cousin and take back the bail money, Terry soon realizes that the only way to uproot such widespread corruption is to burn it all down. With an extensive background dealing with very dangerous people, Terry utilizes his particular set of skills to battle an entire town of enemies. And soon, he won’t care who stands in his way.
Director Jeremy Saulnier has specialized in pulpy action films that focus on the slow degradation of humanity. When man is determined to achieve a goal at any cost, he loses his humanity along the way. And breakout star Pierre embodies a traditional Saulnier protagonist in every sense. Even in one trailer, tracking his descent from personable ex-Marine to stone-cold killer is disturbingly spot-on. Supporting actor Johnson plays wonderfully against type as a corrupt cop, relishing power as a faux-dictator in a way that never feels overplayed.
While one would expect John Wick-ian action from this premise, Saulnier’s films always choose a quieter tone. Action never feels bombastic and awesome in this trailer, it feels sad and pathetic. The trailer beautifully highlights the ugliness of this society, and how the town eating itself alive thanks to greed and determination will be nothing but dark and disappointing.
And I, as a longtime Saulnier fanboy, can’t wait to become fully disillusioned with society on opening night.
Directed by Jeremy Saulnier, Rebel Ridge will release on Netflix on September 6, 2024. The series stars an ensemble cast led by Aaron Pierre, AnnaSophia Robb, & Don Johnson.
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