Ben Affleck's political kidnapping thriller Animals wants to be a gritty, high-stakes moral dilemma about Los Angeles power players, but it ends up feeling like a glossy direct-to-streaming melodrama that spends 106 minutes spinning its wheels.
Ben Affleck directs and stars alongside Kerry Washington in Animals, a Netflix crime thriller about an LA mayoral candidate whose young son is kidnapped on the night his political campaign reaches a boiling point. Gillian Anderson turns in a fun supporting performance as a cold campaign fixer, but the plot bogs down in soapy marital secrets and forced twists. It is an R-rated thriller intended strictly for adult movie nights, but even without kids in the room, it lands as a skippable mid-tier option.
The movie centers on Mark Kimball (Ben Affleck), a prominent Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose carefully managed life falls apart when he gets a late-night phone call informing him that his son Denny (Christopher Woodley) has been abducted. The kidnappers demand a massive cash ransom, but because Mark has poured almost all his personal wealth into his political campaign, he and his wife Abigail (Kerry Washington) are broke when it matters most.
Desperate to raise the funds without going to the police or destroying his campaign, Mark turns to Dayle Burton (Gillian Anderson), a backroom fixer who works the shadows of LA politics. Dayle tells the couple that keeping their son alive means every secret they have kept from each other needs to come out right now. Alongside Sam Allison (Steven Yeun), Mark's campaign aide, the couple spends a long night moving across Los Angeles, cutting deals with wealthy donors, dealing with criminal networks, and unraveling their own marriage.
Affleck has directed fantastic films in the past. Argo and The Town proved he knows how to build real tension while keeping characters grounded. Animals tries to pull off a similar trick by weaving together the distinct socioeconomic worlds of Los Angeles, complete with bilingual neighborhood dynamics and political commentary, but the screenplay spreads itself too thin.
Instead of building kinetic suspense around a ticking clock, the movie continually pauses for drawn-out arguments between Mark and Abigail about past betrayals. Kerry Washington brings full commitment to her role, but the narrative relies on melodramatic reveals rather than genuine crime-thriller craft. Gillian Anderson brings sharp energy whenever she is on screen, but her character is sidelined right when the story needs momentum. By the final act, the payoff feels rushed and generic.
This is an R-rated adult thriller, not something to put on for family night or casual family viewing.
- Kidnapping and Child Peril: The entire plot rests on a child being abducted and held for ransom. While the young boy is off-screen for most of the film, the threat of violence against him hangs over every scene.
- Language and Tone: Heavy profanity throughout, alongside dark thematic material touching on political corruption, blackmail, and marital infidelity.
- Violence and Tension: Physical altercations, gun threats, and tense standoffs in underground criminal settings across LA.
If you are looking for family movie options or titles suited for teens, check out our best movies for kids list or our digital guide for high school.
If you want an adult crime thriller or mystery that actually delivers, skip Animals and check out these instead:
Ben Affleck stars in David Fincher's adaptation of the smash-hit novel about a missing wife and the media circus that swallows her husband whole. It is sharp, dark, and masterfully constructed from start to finish.
If you want to see Affleck at his best behind the camera, this Academy Award-winning historical thriller follows a fake movie production created to rescue embassy workers from Tehran. The tension never lets up.
Kerry Washington stars alongside an ensemble cast in Rian Johnson's mystery franchise, offering clever plotting, actual twists, and sharp character work that keeps you guessing.
Q: Is 'Animals' appropriate for kids or teens?
No. Animals is rated R for strong language, mature themes around kidnapping and corruption, and intense thriller tension. It is intended for adult audiences.
Q: Is 'Animals' on Netflix worth watching?
For most viewers, it is a pass. Despite an impressive cast including Ben Affleck, Kerry Washington, and Gillian Anderson, the clunky script and soapy pacing keep it from matching the quality of Affleck's better directorial work.
Q: Who stars in Ben Affleck's 'Animals'?
Ben Affleck directs and stars alongside Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Adriana Paz, and Ray Fisher.
Q: How long is the movie 'Animals' on Netflix?
The runtime is 106 minutes (1 hour and 46 minutes).
Animals had the talent and director pedigree to be a top-tier Friday night streaming pick, but flat writing and melodrama keep it from rising above background noise. Leave it on your watch-later stack and pick a sharper movie for your evening.
