‘The Accountant 2’ Review: Affleck & Bernthal Reunite
Nearly nine years following the release of the first Accountant film, stars Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal return for a smart, grounded and downright hilarious sequel.
When The Accountant broke onto the scene back in 2016, it also broke new ground, with the film being credited as one of, if not the, first mainstream action film to feature an autistic lead character. The film followed Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff, an autistic freelance accountant who just so happens to be a highly skilled marksman and martial artist. The film also introduced us to Treasury Department head Ray King (J.K. Simmons) and assassin for hire Braxton (Jon Bernthal), who is Wolff’s brother. That’s where the appeal and setup for the sequel, The Accountant 2, comes into play.
The Accountant 2 follows Christian Wolff as he is recruited by Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), the Deputy Director of the Treasury Department’s FinCEN, following the death of Ray King at the hands of mercenaries. Together, they attempt to solve a mystery before bringing Wolff’s brother Braxton into the fold as a helping hand. The movie then takes on a tonal shift, going from an immensely grounded thriller to something more lighthearted and, most importantly, kindhearted.
At its core, The Accountant 2 revolves around the relationship of the two brothers, taking into account their history, their differences, and their characters to create a dynamic that is both hilarious at times and deeply touching. Whilst I do believe that this relationship won’t work for everyone, it definitely did for me, having a brother who was diagnosed with autism early in life. For this reason, I believe the representation to both well-intended and well-portrayed, with Affleck evidently having done more research and practice for the role since his last tenure as Christian back in 2016.
The film’s plot leaves a little to be desired, and whilst it does make sense and is technically well written for the needs of the film, it comes across as convoluted and slightly long-winded. It’s a problem that carried over from the first film, and I do hope that it is resolved in a sequel, given that we get a sequel.
The Accountant 2 is a great sequel to a good movie, separating itself from its predecessor only by tone. The film works well in several facets, with a familial relationship that might strike particularly close to some, but it still has some room for improvement.
The Accountant 2 was directed by Gavin O’Connor and starred Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, JK Simmons, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson. Following its premiere at SXSW, the film was released by Amazon MGM Studios and is now playing in theatres worldwide.
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