REVIEW
What Makes ‘Rebel Ridge’ A Spectacular Action Thriller
Jeremy Saulnier’s film offers audiences a more human kind of vigilante hero
The vigilante film became popular in the 1970s following a spike in violent crime and a widespread belief that police were being inappropriately restricted from using deadly force. “Dirty Harry” (1971) starring Clint Eastwood as San Francisco police detective Harry Callahan was a prime example, and film critic Roger Ebert famously described the “movie’s moral position” as “fascist.”
“Rebel Ridge” exists in sharp contrast. Screenwriter and director Jeremy Saulnier builds a narrative around the injustice of civil asset forfeiture by police. The vigilante character is a Black former marine named Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre), who goes to war against police not only because they targeted him but also because police have turned the fictional town of Shelby Springs, Alabama, into their fiefdom.
Terry must get to the municipal courthouse so he can post the $10,000 bail for his cousin Mike (C.J. LeBlanc). If he does not, Mike will be transferred to a state prison and face grave danger. He speeds to the courthouse on his bicycle while listening to a “metal mix” on his phone (with songs like Iron Maiden’s “Number of the Beast”).
