Rebel Ridge

Rebel Ridge manages to hit the low bar of being competent and watchable. It does have a very appealing look... along with some beautiful wide views of the orange-tinged horizon. Unfortunately, the film itself is as flat at that horizon line.

Jeremy Saulnier's Rebel Ridge is a race thriller that, up to a point, is as effective as they come.

Off-kilter and fresh, "Rebel Ridge" may frustrate crude expectations, but its satisfactions are many.

A film like Rebel Ridge reminds us that you can lose yourself in exciting, engaging, stimulating entertainment while still keeping your brain completely on.

It's what a modern crowd-pleaser should be: smart, gripping, and about something.

Like its leading man, Rebel Ridge is a lean, muscular movie with few over-the-top special effects, save for Pierre's spectacular eyes. It's a triumph of small-budget, naturalistic filmmaking.

John Boyega was originally cast as Terry, but Pierre makes the role so thoroughly his own that it's difficult to imagine anyone else pulling it off. He commands the screen with a handsome authority.

"Rebel Ridge" is just a reminder of how thrilling it can be to see a genre piece with this level of artistry.

Doesn't ultimately put its star through the slam-bang paces often enough, but as a human weapon pushed to the limit, the actor proves ideally fit for such rugged genre environs.

Our pulses are elevated by the score, a relentless tattoo of drones and drums, plus the truly sensational camera work of David Gallego which, like our leading man, moves with measured intelligence and makes tactical use of every mirror in sight.

It's not only smart and thrilling, but shot, written and directed well. And the acting is terrific, particularly by Pierre, who injects a steely intensity when it's needed. Details: 3½ stars; debuts Sept. 6 on Peacock.

If racial politics prompt Saulnier to treat him marginally more thoughtfully than most movie veterans, the filmmaker's obligations to genre formula end up overshadowing those differences by the time the last empty, explosive action sequence has unfolded.

For a moment, one man on a bike with a few expertly wielded weapons can wreak holy havoc on corrupt cops, and damn does it feel good to watch.

Saulnier delivers another simmering powder keg

A tightly wound, extremely well-executed action thriller that plays to its strengths and comes off like a '70s genre exercise.

With a whip-smart plot, a strong lead in Aaron Pierre, and a standout villain in Don Johnson, director Jeremy Saulnier has done it again.

The film's hectically choreographed violence has less power than the characters' subtle yet precise glances of recognition or hostility or complicity. The movie's physicality, at its most vital, is infinitesimal.

Rebel Ridge is that rarest of things, an auteurist action thriller with brains and heart and guts, an electrifying and crowd-pleasing work of cinema, pulp art of the highest level.

"Rebel Ridge" isn't up there with Saulnier's earlier films but it's still something rare in the commercial movie landscape: A work of pure professionalism behind the camera and in front of it.

Just another forgettable entry in a long line of mid-level thrillers about corrupt law enforcement.