Animals

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Animals

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1h 46m

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Popcornmeter

32%

Tomatometer

62 Reviews

41%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

When their son is kidnapped, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate and his wife find themselves drawn into a web of deception. As they scramble to raise the ransom payment, they're forced to make choices that could tear their world apart.

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Ryan Lattanzio

IndieWire

4 days ago

C-

For every piece of drone footage sweeping across LA, every shot that carves out about two feet of space between actors with no sizzle, I kept wishing for more Gillian Anderson, more Gillian Anderson, please.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

4 days ago

3/5

The kidnapping story never fully makes sense, while the film’s lack of interest in the villain is shameful. But this is mostly guilty pleasure fun, and Affleck is too good a film-maker to produce a genuine misfire.

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Peter Travers

The Travers Take

4 days ago

1/4

Was someone holding a gun to Ben Affleck’s head to make this kidnap clunker? I’d hate to think he did it willingly.

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Jennifer Green

Common Sense Media

3 hrs ago

3/5

With a prestigious cast, a noir Los Angeles setting, and unexpected plot twists, Ben Affleck's latest directorial turn makes for a suspenseful watch.

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Marlon Wallace

The M Report (WBOC.com)

6 hrs ago

The quandary, which was in the Kurosawa film, is whether the wealthy parents should pay the ransom for the son of the poor parents. This film makes that quandary interesting by adding a racial component, and a political one.

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John Serba

Decider

8 hrs ago

Is the screenplay under- or overwritten? Hard to tell. But its lack of clarity renders it Affleck’s least satisfying directorial effort.

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Tony D

@tonyd7 36 min ago

Just not plausible in any way. Very disappointing movie.

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Chet C

@RT95841721 1 hr ago

One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Acting was not believable. Plot was not compelling. And, of course, the predictable evil white guy was the villain 😆

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Cameron H

@RT40865196 2 hrs ago

It would probably have been better with the original cast, Matt Damon and Jennifer Garner. Ben always acts like he is disinterested in acting and Kerry Washington is too good of an actress for this boring role. The pace is terrible. Gillian Anderson is terrific and shows a different facet of her acting capabilities. Steven Yeung has too trivial of a role.

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Kate F

@K80Fdy 3 hrs ago

Shockingly bad. Acting was cringe. One liners were awful and the plot laughable. Disappointed that Afleck had anything to do with this.

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Dainard B

@Dainard 4 hrs ago

Not a bad movie at all. I think all the bad reviews are just people hating on Ben for whatever reason

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Ian W

@iwaldman 5 hrs ago

After watching this movie, I found myself very frustrated with Ben Affleck. Number one, why does he insist on always acting in his films? This is clearly his weakest trait, and he’s a much better writer. Number two, given that he is a very good writer, why did he decide to adapt one of the all-time cinematic classics, which also got a modernized adaptation just a couple years ago from Spike Lee? High and Low —— Highest 2 Lowest —— Animals The first is a masterpiece, the second was good, but Affleck’s contribution is redundant and the worst of the bunch. There were several moments in this film where Ben Affleck had me laughing at his expense. The first scene was when he was screaming, and the second scene is when he started crying. He seems like a great guy, but his acting is rigid and forced. We also have a very questionable wagon scene/stunt that has been circulating online as being AI. That would be a shame, but regardless, I thought it was ridiculous within the story and really

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Ben Affleck

Director

Ben Affleck

Mark Kimball

Kerry Washington

Actor

Gillian Anderson

Actor

Steven Yeun

Actor

Luis Gerardo Méndez

Actor

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Synopsis

When their son is kidnapped, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate and his wife find themselves drawn into a web of deception. As they scramble to raise the ransom payment, they're forced to make choices that could tear their world apart.

Director: Ben Affleck
Producer: Brad Weston, Collin Creighton, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Dani Bernfeld, Luciana Damon
Screenwriter: Connor O. McIntyre, Billy Ray, Ben Affleck
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Artists Equity, Fifth Season
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 9, 2026, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 9, 2026
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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