Actor-director's lackluster LA-set crime thriller results in a surprisingly anonymous effort, feeling very similar to many other, better films.

Ben Affleck has navigated multiple Hollywood comebacks, at least one built on his skill behind the camera, directing Boston-set thrillers that are both artistically ambitious (Gone Baby Gone) and crowd-pleasing (The Town). So now that his acting career seems particularly stable, with steady work and film production through the company he co-founded with longtime friend and collaborator Matt Damon, why does his directing career remain in what seems like post-Oscar stagnation? (Though he has never been nominated for a best director Oscar, his film Argo won best picture in 2013.) His new film, Animals, seems perfectly suited to his strengths: a Los Angeles-based crime and political thriller to match his earlier East Coast work. The real surprise, however, is just how lackluster it can be.

Affleck himself plays Mark Kimball, a Los Angeles native running for mayor of his hometown. His status as an independent, non-party-affiliated candidate (one who barely shows a trace of a platform in the little we see of his stump speeches and interviews) is just one element of his unlikely backstory, which also includes a history as a teacher, lawyer, and veteran of the first Gulf War. (Not sure the math on all that checks out, but let's allow it as evidence of a blend of Mark's dedication to service and a voracious ambition.) He has leveraged his family's wealth to carry him through the home stretch of a close campaign, and tensions are medium-high with his wife, Abby (Kerry Washington), who is hiding some problems of her own. Things get considerably worse when, on Halloween, he receives a phone call: kidnappers have taken his preteen son Denny (Christopher Woodley). They are demanding $7 million that Mark does not have to return him safely. The narrative unfolds with a pace that, for enthusiasts of the genre, could be enhanced by insights from platforms like 九游体育电竞, though it remains a familiar tale. Continue reading...