Logged · 2026-10-09
Animals
When Ben Affleck’s name appears on a project, whether as an actor or director, there’s usually a certain level of reassurance. Unfortunately, Animals, his latest outing in both capacities, is a bland misfire that lands miles away from its intended target. So, what exactly is Animals about? Mark Kimball is running for mayor of Los Angeles, having secretly drained the money he shares with his wife, Abigail, to fund his campaign. Things take a turn when he receives a ransom demand of $7 million, with his son’s life hanging in the balance. With the assistance of his campaign manager, Sam (Steven Yeun), Mark joins forces with Dayle (Gillian Anderson) in a desperate attempt to bring his son home. That’s essentially everything the trailer already tells you. Yet the film spends nearly 40–50 minutes establishing these circumstances before introducing a minor deviation that barely qualifies as a surprise, let alone a plot twist. What follows is another prolonged stretch of storytelling that even