The Accountant 2 Makes the Most of Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal's Brotherly Love: Evaluate

In a special, extra sane time frame, this could be a evaluate of The Accountant 2 which didn’t have to say the Trump administration. This, nevertheless, is the spring of 2025, and on the eve of the brand new motion film’s launch, it should be talked about that there’s one one that must go see Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal kick an entire bunch of ass on display: Present Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy, in a press convention on April sixteenth, declared to the world that children with autism “won’t ever pay taxes. They’ll by no means maintain a job. They’ll by no means play baseball. They’ll by no means write a poem. They’ll by no means exit on a date.” Except for being vastly insulting to the various, many individuals on this world who develop up neurodivergent and undoubtedly do these issues, it’s a press release I’d prefer to suppose Kennedy won’t have made if he had seen the primary Accountant movie, to not point out the second.

2016’s The Accountant launched the titular Accountant, Affleck’s Christian Wolff (what a personality identify), an autistic man who occurs to be each a superb accountant and a particularly lethal badass — abilities that turn out to be useful in case you’re cooking the books for the mob. The primary film is equal quantities Affleck kicking butt and untangling crime utilizing math, a pattern that will get amplified within the sequel, together with much more of Bernthal as Chris’s youthful brother Braxton, an agent of chaos in direct distinction to Chris’s extra reserved nature.

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Understanding that Affleck is a neurotypical actor enjoying an autistic character after all impacts our notion of his efficiency, since, as The Heart for Incapacity Rights writes, “there is no such thing as a option to precisely play an autistic character in case you are not autistic your self.” It’s why advocates push for extra on-screen illustration of underrepresented teams — created by and that includes folks from these teams.

In The Accountant 2, there have been moments the place it felt like Affleck was bringing some actual nuance to his portrayal… after which there have been moments the place it felt like Affleck’s performing coach was a used VHS of Rain Man. It doesn’t assist that the premise leans onerous on the “autism as superpower” trope in explaining Chris’s skills.

Leaving apart the subject of autism, The Accountant 2 options some wild tone points: When it’s functioning as an motion comedy, it’s fairly enjoyable, however director Gavin O’Connor pushes the narrative into some fairly darkish locations, climaxing with a sequence in order that’s so over-the-top grim it nearly turns into hilarious. (With out getting an excessive amount of into spoilers, a college bus full of kids is concerned.)

The Accountant 2 (Amazon MGM Studios)

The supporting solid contains the returning J.Ok. Simmons because the now-retired Raymond King, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson as a Treasury agent who pulls Chris again into motion to assist with a thriller she’s attempting to resolve. There’s additionally a brand new character, a mysterious murderer identified solely as Anaïs (Daniella Pineda), whose id is essential to the investigation. All of them carry out admirably, although this film is finally a two-hander.

For your best option The Accountant 2 makes is giving Jon Bernthal extra screentime — in spite of everything, Bernthal is electrical, and extra of him is all the time higher. Watching Bernthal bloom since his mid-2010s breakout in initiatives like The Strolling Lifeless, The Wolf of Wall Road, and The Punisher has been such a deal with: There’s an excellent 5 minutes of The Accountant 2 wherein he does nothing however tempo round a resort room speaking to himself, and it’s fucking cinema.

Partnering up Affleck and Bernthal’s characters brings out the very best in each, and watching this unconventional brother act tackle (and take out) the unhealthy guys is usually deeply satisfying. Even simply watching them share a beer on a trailer rooftop or get right into a good-natured barfight is an efficient time. As a result of generally one of the best ways to grasp somebody is thru their relationships with others, and it’s watching Chris work together with Braxton the place Affleck is at his most plausible.

Whereas The Accountant 2 isn’t a completely profitable film, or a completely profitable depiction of autism, it does at the very least highlight an autistic character who lives a full life and appears content material — who does, actually, date and do his taxes. It’s not a triumph of illustration, nevertheless it’s bought a greater understanding of the subject material than some authorities officers do. That’s not saying a lot. However, hey, that’s 2025 for you.

The Accountant 2 premieres in theaters on Friday, April twenty fifth. Try the trailer under.