Reel Rundown: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck back together in well-casted film that falls short with storyline

In numerous interviews over the years, the actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have talked about their relationship.

They’ve explained how they are longtime friends who shared a desire to become movie stars, ended up co-winning an Oscar for writing the film “Good Will Hunting” and have gone on to forge successful careers in what everyone knows is a tough business.

And for nearly two decades, those careers were largely separate – at least when it came to acting (the two have co-produced several projects). That separation was by choice, Damon explained in a recent interview, as they sought to establish individual identities.

The ploy worked well. Besides starring in several films, including as Batman in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” Affleck won acclaim for directing such films as “Gone Baby Gone” and the 2013 Oscar-winning Best Picture “Argo.”

And Damon, in addition to his work as a producer, is one of Hollywood’s most bankable actors, having starred in such films as Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed,” Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” and is playing Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming “The Odyssey.”

Now the two have again joined forces to play two Miami police officers in Joe Carnahan’s crime study “The Rip,” which is streaming on Netflix. And for two-thirds of the film, their on-screen chemistry – as well as Carnahan’s ability to direct action sequences – works well. Unfortunately, math tells us that two-thirds is not the whole enchilada.

Carnahan starts things strongly by portraying the ambush murder of a police captain by a pair of masked assassins. Cut to the character of Dane Dumars (Damon), newly promoted to lieutenant, sitting in his superior’s office. And we learn that the Tactical Narcotics Team (or TNT) he belongs to, which was headed by the murdered officer, is under investigation.

Right away, then, Carnahan’s script (he shares story credit with Michael McGraile) has us guessing as to who’s crooked and who’s not. When Dumars gets a tip about a supposed stash of drug money – the “rip” of the film’s title – in the nearby city of Hialeah, he recruits the remaining TNT members to check things out.

It’s telling that when he informs each member about how much the so-called rip is said to be worth, he gives a different amount. He even his fudges the number with his partner and friend J.D. Byrne (Affleck).

And the surprise to everyone is that when they arrive at the house, set in a mostly deserted suburban cul-de-sac, they find not just a single woman, Desi (Sasha Calle), but also $20 million in cash.

Instead of reporting the haul to his superiors, Dumars insists on counting the money right there – even as they receive a phone message telling them to leave the house in the next half hour or they will all die. And gradually everyone becomes paranoid, as we learn that several of the team – including Dumars – are pressed for money, making them ripe for corruption.

Here, though, is where Carnahan’s script falters. As we head into the final third of the film, we discover the truth. And Carnahan, having given away any sense of mystery, fills the remaining screen time with wild car chases, rampant gunfire, obligatory expository speeches and a too-neat ending to what until then had been a more-or-less solid police procedural.

Don’t fault the cast. Affleck is good at playing angry, and Damon is good enough to make even the most absurd-sounding lines feel at least somewhat natural. (At one point he has to say, “Do you think I want to jack this rip?”)

Others in the cast, from Teyana Taylor (who just won a Gloden Globe Award as Best Supporting Female Actor for “One Battle After Another”) to Steve Yuen and Kyle Chandler do credible jobs as well. The blame belongs solely to Carnahan and McGraile, despite the fact that the two of them did get at least one thing right.

Stop reading if you don’t like spoilers. Pet owners, though, will appreciate knowing this: Wilbur the police dog dodges a hail of bullets – and survives.