Rebel Ridge Proves Netflix Can Greenlight Good Movies

One of the reasons why Netflix remains the leading streaming platform is its diverse content. The only issue is that developing all sorts of series and movies usually leads to less-than-optimal products arriving on the platform. For every Stranger Things, at least five The I-Lands are waiting to take down the overall quality of the Netflix brand.

While most people go to Netflix for their serials, original movies are still integral to the platform’s offerings. Unfortunately, feature films haven’t been as successful as shows have for Netflix. There’s a certain “streaming” quality that makes even visually stunning films like Rebel Moon feel underwhelming. It’s almost as if Netflix can’t produce a movie that matches the excitement that only theatres can provide. That was until they released Rebel Ridge.

Netflix’s Rebel Ridge Had A Long Road To Success

Rebel Ridge was in development for at least five years before its Netflix debut. The film would star John Boyega, while Jeremy Saulnier handled the writing and directing duties. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic brought production to a screeching halt, sending Rebel Ridge straight to production hell.

Boyega left the project in 2021 after one month of principal photography. Finally, after years in production, a new version of Rebel Ridge wrapped its production in 2024. With Saulnier still at the helm, this is as close to his original vision as fans would ever get.

Rebel Ridge Is A Notch Above The Rest Of The Netflix Content

The movie presents a classic revenge story – the kind of film you’d see on TV all the time in the ’90s. We follow Terry (Aaron Pierre) – an outsider who goes to the town of Shelby Springs to pay his cousin’s bail. What he finds, however, is a deep conspiracy and a corrupt local police hellbent on keeping his savings and transferring his cousin out of town.

Just one look at Rebel Ridge is all you need to notice that something feels different about this particular film. Between Jeremy Sauliner’s directing chops and David Gallego’s pristine cinematography, Rebel Ridge looks exactly like a movie you’d expect to see on the big screen.

The feeling of “true film” Rebel Ridge emanates is almost nowhere to be seen on Netflix’s repertoire. Even movies like Glass Onion – a sequel to a feature film – look “digital” compared to Rebel Ridge in a way that’s almost impossible to put into words.

A Blueprint For The Future

Netflix has proved they can learn from their mistakes. The success of shows like Squid Game convinced the streaming giant to invest more in Korean productions, for example. Now that Rebel Ridge sits at a comfortable 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, the platform would do well sticking to this winning formula.

Replicating Rebel Ridge might be impossible, but it’s clear that audiences demand more quality entertainment from platforms like Netflix. Now that we’re seeing even the industry’s heavyweights like Disney relying more and more on a “quality over quantity” formula for their projects, it might be time for Netflix to follow suit.

Maybe we may be missing out on movies like Noise or shows like the animated classic Hoops, but if the result is more outstanding movies like Rebel Ridge, I think we can all collectively agree we can live without another season of Big Mouth.

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