Ranking the Films Directed by Ben Affleck

When Ben Affleck steps behind a camera, I get excited. His filmmaking debut, Gone Baby Gone, was incredibly impressive, and with The Town and Argo, he only upped his game. That era established him as an A-list director, in addition to an actor. Aside from Live by Night, that era led to a downturn in his filmmaking output, at least until Air reminded everyone just how good he is at directing. With his latest effort Animals now streaming on Netflix, it’s a perfect time to look and rank the films directed by Affleck so far.

Back when Air was released, my review here on the site raved about his work like so:

Sports movies can often center on athletes, sure, but some of the great ones (or sports-adjacent ones) never even focus on game being played. Just think of Jerry Maguire and Moneyball, for example. The characters and the drive to win a different kind of game fuel the narrative. Ben Affleck‘s return to directing, as well as his latest collaboration with Matt Damon, is of that ilk, and it truly stands tall with those other films. Air is an absolute triumph, supremely entertaining while also trafficking in emotion and ideas. It’s the full package and the cinematic equivalent of a franchise player. Nothing else so far this year can match the slam dunk (excuse the pun, but everyone will be doing it) that is Air. Affleck has been gone from behind the camera for too long. We’ve missed him.

Air is far more than just the best “dad movie” in years, or even just a sports flick. Utilizing the story of Nike pursuing a partnership with a rookie Michael Jordan, we get a testament to believing in yourself, believing in others, and standing for something. It takes real talent to invest you in the tale of a shoe salesman, the underdog aspect of an eventual billion dollar corporation, and the budding career of a legend you barely see, but Affleck and company pull it off in spades. It runs like clockwork and never ceases to be a delight.

Ben Affleck helmed films run like machines, with Air being no exception. Affleck’s direction, combined with the whip-smart script from Alex Convery, makes everything seem so easy. Convery’s screenplay is lively and full of great quotes, while never forgetting the emotionality of the characters at its core. Even when it’s funny, and it’s often very funny, it’s got even more heart up its sleeve. Affleck’s crisp visuals, courtesy of cinematographer Robert Richardson, evoke the time period, as does the banger after banger on the vintage soundtrack. The efficiency at play is not just evidence that Affleck is one of the best actors turned filmmakers out there, but that he’s quite simply one of the best directors in Hollywood today. If Live By Night is his one mixed bag directorial outing (if a still highly watchable one), Air stands tall with Argo, Gone Baby Gone, and The Town.

Just a few days ago, my review here of Animals spoke of Affleck’s filmmaking in the following manner:

I’ve long said that a film helmed by Ben Affleck runs like a machine. The actor turned multi-hyphenate, when he steps behind the camera, just knows how to pace his movies in a way that some never figure out. With Animals, Affleck is not just returning more to his crime thriller roots, when he debuted as a filmmaker with Gone Baby Gone, but also doing his riff on the Akira Kurosawa film High and Low (which, yes, was just last year made into a Spike Lee flick with Highest 2 Lowest). The result is far from Affleck’s best, to be fair, but a work that does more than enough to warrant my recommendation and your time.

Animals is a dark and twisty thriller from Affleck, one that’s lean and mean. There’s an efficiency on display here that keeps things moving, both to distract from some of the sillier elements, but also to keep your blood pumping. It’s hard not to see the better film that lives within this one, especially since there’s a sense that Affleck could have either leaned into more of High and Low (and credited it as the source material), or gone in more of a different direction. Splitting the difference keeps the movie from really reaching its full potential. Still, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to having a very good time with this nasty little work.

Ben Affleck directs a screenplay he co-wrote with Connor O. McIntyre, and Billy Ray. While no one will mistake this for Air or Argo, Animals is still well made. Affleck has crisp visuals from cinematographer Robert Elswit, keeps the pacing tight, and knows when to raise or lower the tension. The script is a bit more of an up and down measure, as Affleck, McIntyre, and Ray don’t fully find a new way to tell this story. The politician elements are well handled and the ending is crazy enough to work, at least for me, though the kidnapping itself feels standard issue. There’s also a fumbled metaphor in regards to the title, which just never lands. This is a good movie to me, overall, it’s just not a great one, and with the exception of Live by Night, that’s all Affleck has ever made.

This is how I would rank the six movies helmed by Affleck to date. Behold:

6. Live by Night

5. Animals

4. Gone Baby Gone

3. The Town

2. Argo

1. Air

As you can see, for a while, it seemed like Affleck was only getting better and better with his films. Considering how much I like Gone Baby Gone, he’d already started at a pretty high level, with The Town raising the size and scale, before winning Best Picture (and being snubbed in Best Director) for Argo. Live by Night is a letdown, for sure, but not terrible, and I’m on record with Air being phenomenal. So, Animals being lesser Affleck is clear, but also not the worst place to be, considering his directing resume.

What is your favorite film directed by Ben Affleck? Let us know!