Typically life fingers you a case of the blues that may solely be cured by watching Ben Affleck line dance whereas doing his greatest to convey autism along with his facial expressions. When these days come, “The Accountant 2” is the film for you.
I’m unsure who was clamoring for a sequel to Gavin O’Connor’s 2016 movie, which starred Affleck as Christian Wolff, an accountant on the autism spectrum who un-cooks books for legal organizations whereas doubling as an motion hero with good marksmanship and brutal hand-to-hand fight abilities. It’s the uncommon film that deserves criticism for not focusing sufficient on the intricacies of accounting, as the concept of Cartels turning to freelancers to resolve their monetary issues was much more attention-grabbing than the knockoff Jason Bourne that Christian was ultimately become. However it instructed an entire story (some would say “after which some”), leaving most of us content material to see Christian journey off into the sundown in his Airstream realizing that he’d preserve telling mob bosses which thieves to whack for years to come back.
When “The Accountant 2” begins, Christian continues to be dwelling off the grid. However when Ray King (JK Simmons) — the retired FBI monetary crimes boss who recognized him within the first place — is murdered, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is aware of she wants to usher in The Accountant to complete his final investigation. King’s former protege and blackmail topic who took his job after he retired to a lifetime of non-public investigating, Medina has by no means met Wolff face-to-face. However she is aware of that the one technique to contact him is by calling a neurological analysis middle in Hartford and talking in code to a clueless receptionist, whereas the actual shadow receptionist listens in and makes use of her military of gifted autistic kids to trace down the caller’s location and get in contact about reserving The Accountant. Typically, it truly is that easy!
Seems, Ray had taken a case serving to a household of Mexican immigrants discover their lacking youngster, who they believed was being held captive in Juarez. Christian agrees to assist Medina end the job, which includes investigating a human trafficking ring that’s laundering cash via a pizza manufacturing facility (2016 MAGA conspiracy theorists rejoice!). However when he realizes this job would require greater than accounting, he brings in his brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) for some additional muscle.
A quick-talking, puppy-loving hitman who appeared within the first movie however turns into a real co-lead within the sequel, Braxton is shocked to get a name from his brother. After spending years of his life attempting to have a relationship with Christian, he feels extremely uncared for after numerous false makes an attempt at connection. He agrees to take the job for his ordinary charge, however long-simmering tensions and his frustrations with Christian’s incapacity to point out typical types of affection quickly bubble to the floor.
If there’s one factor “The Accountant 2” deserves credit score for, it’s determining that an autistic Ben Affleck is solely not sufficient to hold an motion film on his personal. Christian Wolff may truly be certainly one of Affleck’s higher appearing jobs in recent times, however he works much better as a foil than a number one man. Bernthal exhibits up with buckets of allure to share the heavy lifting, making Affleck’s accountant appear extra sympathetic and competent by comparability. And with the 2 males having fun with equal time within the highlight, the movie’s moments of levity appear extra like brotherly razzing than merciless jabs at a disabled man.
The human trafficking storyline that offers the movie its construction is generic bad-guy-of-the-week stuff at greatest, and it’s laborious to get that invested within the fates of a household we’ve by no means spent any time with simply because J.Ok. Simmons apparently befriended them between motion pictures. That shortcoming nearly works within the sequel’s favor, although, because it prevents it from turning into an excessive amount of of an motion film till the ultimate sequence.
At its coronary heart, “The Accountant 2” is a narrative of brothers working via their drama via drunken nights at honky tonk bars and deep conversations on the roof of an Airstream. I’m nonetheless not satisfied this franchise exists for any purpose apart from Affleck being jealous that Matt Damon gained the coin toss to determine who obtained to play the mathematics genius in “Good Will Searching,” however it manages to supply extra coronary heart and extra laughs the second time round.
Grade: C+
“The Accountant 2” premiered at SXSW 2025. Amazon MGM will launch it in theaters on Friday, April 25.
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