Tom’s Guide Verdict: ‘Animals’
- Rating: 3/5 stars
- Verdict: “Netflix’s ‘Animals’ sees Ben Affleck operating on both sides of the camera in a respectable crime thriller. The plotting is pedestrian, but good performances, especially from Gillian Anderson and Kerry Washington, stand out. It’s intense and twisting enough that you’ll feel compelled to see this streaming original through to the end; it’s just a shame that when the finale does arrive, ‘Animals’ swerves into silliness.’
- Where to watch: “Animals” is on Netflix now
It speaks to the overall quality of Netflix’s original movie slate in 2026 that I would rank new crime thriller “Animals” in my top five best of the year so far. On the surface, that seems like a big compliment. However, it’s more a result of subpar competition than owing to the strength of this new Ben Affleck movie about a mayoral candidate in a desperate situation.
Affleck stars in and directed “Animals,” and considering his pedigree in the thriller space, having helmed the likes of “Gone Baby Gone” and “Argo,” not to mention playing the lead in genre titan “Gone Girl” and Netflix’s popular “The Rip,” I hoped this new Netflix original could capture that magic. It doesn’t.
However, don’t take all this as the introduction to a review where I eviscerate the movie and advise you to give it a wide berth. “Animals” does offer some solid thriller fundamentals. In the streaming space, where the barrier to entry is lower than catching a new release on the big screen, “Animals” is a perfectly serviceable way to spend two hours. It just never amounts to more than that.
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What is ‘Animals’ about?
Mark Kimball (Ben Affleck) is a Los Angeles mayoral candidate who is risking everything, from his rapidly crumbling marriage to his life savings, in the hopes of being elected. Under the advice of his campaign manager, Sam (Steven Yeun), he even puts the family home up as collateral to cover the cost of his election campaign — local TV airtime in L.A. certainly ain’t cheap!
This financial gamble almost instantly backfires when his young son is kidnapped, and the criminals responsible demand an extortionate multi-million dollar ransom. With no access to that sort of money, Mark and his wife, Abigail (Kerry Washington), are in a desperate bind.
In steps a criminal fixer (Gillian Anderson), well-versed in navigating all manner of dangerous situations. As the night progresses and their son’s life hangs in the balance, Mark and Abigail must consider their options carefully, in turn revealing sides of their personalities, motivations, and marriage that were supposed to remain hidden.
‘Animals’ spins a compelling story until its silly final stand-off
After a perfunctory opening, which introduces Affleck’s Mark and the movie’s other main players and sets up a bunch of narrative dominoes you just know will come tumbling down at some point, “Animals” gets down to business. The politician learns from a mysterious caller that his son has been taken. The criminals want a lot of money that Mark doesn’t have.
Cue intense scenes of worried parents lamenting how they’re going to get their son back, while Yeun’s Sam mills around in the background, trying to offer support, with one eye kept on the campaign optics of Mark’s decision. It’s all standard thriller stuff. But things do heat up once Anderson’s cold and calculating criminal fixer is called in to help the family find a resolution.
Tense conversations in the Kimball family’s plush living room make up the lion’s share of the movie’s first half; the movie’s talented cast keeps things interesting, even selling some clunky dialogue. Washington and Anderson stand out. The former has a secret of her own, and the latter is a magnetic on-screen presence playing a character who commands the room and always ensures she has leverage to fall back on should things go south.
Supporting players Cecilia (Adriana Paz), who works as a child carer for the Kimballs, and her boyfriend, Ramon (Luis Gerardo Méndez), a handyman/gardner, are also caught up in the hostage situation, but aren’t fleshed out enough to feel like vital players. Their most meaningful contribution is giving Affleck a chance to showcase his fluency in Spanish.
Ramon exemplifies one of “Animals” core problems, touching on too many subjects without fully exploring them. He’s an undocumented immigrant, frustrated at the selfish, me-first attitude he’s experienced in the U.S. But this topic isn’t expanded on beyond some throwaway dialogue. The same is true when Mark comments on the struggles of the working class in poorer areas of L.A.; it’s mentioned, but not fully developed. There’s no substance to these inclusions that could force a watcher to reflect on their own attitudes.
“Animals’” other problem is a whiplash-inducing ending that moves the events away from the Kimbell home and into city streets. Here every character, both hero and villain, seems to lose any intelligence previously displayed, and events are driven by the requirements of the plot rather than any consistent logic. A scene with some of the worst CGI effects I’ve witnessed in 2026 only adds to the vibe that the big final stand-off was a real rush job.
Verdict: ‘Animals’ doesn’t quite have enough bite
“Animals” is the type of Netflix movie you’ll watch on a Saturday night and find generally enjoyable enough to warrant staying at home on a weekend evening. But come Monday morning, you’ll likely have completely forgotten you even streamed it. It certainly doesn’t live long in the memory.
Affleck’s direction is workmanlike; there’s no interesting filmmaking flourish, but everything is approached with a steady hand. The same is true of his leading performance. Washington and Anderson deliver the most interesting and compelling characters, while Yeun, Paz and Gerardo Méndez offer up serviceable support, even if their roles are a little undercooked.
If you discard the ending, which hard-swerves into silliness, “Animals” is a generally competent thriller; there’s just enough intensity and high-stakes confrontations, not to mention a predictable but effective mid-movie switch-up, to keep you invested. But I wish the movie had something extra that would have seen it rise from serviceable to really special.
Watch “Animals” on Netflix now
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