Credits & Debits
Ben Affleck’s number-crunching, gun-toting CPA is back, and he’s giving Gerard Butler a run for his macho money.
The Accountant 2
Director: Gavin O’Connor • Writer: Bill Dubuque
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, JK Simmons, Daniella Pineda
USA • 2hrs 13mins
Opens Hong Kong April 24 • IIB
Grade: C+
The nearly decade old (!) The Accountant was one of those cheesy, high concept cornball thrillers that wound up being the enjoyable stealth diversion no one knew they needed. I mean, come on. A Batman-looking autistic accountant trained in SEAL level combat who uses his mad Excel skills to rewash mob books as well as save farmers excess tax fees on the side is a pretty bananas concept that’s hard to deny is compelling. If goofy AF. It was also one of those mid-budget hits that no one saw coming, so naturally someone somewhere (Zaslav) is going to exploit that for a more expensive, much noisier sequel.
The Accountant 2 – or The Accountant Squared if we’re going to follow the onscreen titling – picks up with said accountant Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck, also a producer as part of Artists Equity) living in his tricked out Airstream and trying to have a life. He still works for criminals. While this is going on, former FinCEN director Raymond King (JK Simmons) is meeting with a mysterious assassin, Anaïs (discount Florence Pugh, Daniella Pineda, Cowboy Bebop) for reasons, even though he’s being chased by assassins of his own. No surprise, King winds up dead, and when his protégé Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) comes to claim the body, she sees “Find the accountant” scrawled on his arm. Thus begins the gratuitous action and OMG why do I like this schlock?
Part three: buddy road comedy
I’ll tell you why I like this schlock. I like it because The Accountant 2 doubles down on its ludicrous premise, throws in a Professor Xavier-style school for gifted children and significantly bumps the screen time for Braxton, Christian’s vaguely psychopathic hired killer little brother, played with glorious scenery chewing, sexy panache by Jon Bernthal. When Marybeth reaches out to Christian for help with King’s last case and they need someone to do some dirty work, he says he “may know someone,” who of course turns out to be Brax. Once the trio gets busy, they uncover a massive human trafficking network, headed up by a dude called Burke (Robert Morgan) and his right hand Cobb (Grant Harvey), whose cover is fishmonger. Christian and Brax’s extrajudicial methods – aided by Christian’s eye in the sky Justine – make Marybeth all kinds of uncomfortable and eventually they wind up taking on Burke’s army in Juarez alone. And there’s a link between King, Burke and Anaïs that ties the whole silly thing together.
This film is deeply, deeply problematic – in its foundational idea equating neurodivergence with superheroism, in its orange filtered view of Mexico, in its militaristic bravado – but that’s the trick of films like this. Against your better judgement they’re still oddly watchable, like the lunatic (and mostly awful) Flight Risk, or legit good, like the burgeoning G.But franchise Den of Thieves, which The Accountant desperately wants to be. But where Thieves has an unapologetic, winking macho charisma to it, The Accountant is less defined that way, and relies on some pretty bizarre takes for its colour commentary. Exhibit A: Christian speed-dating, which he tries after analysing the system and maximising his chances. Hahaha, people on the spectrum dating. It’s an outdated gag that would work if Christian were a more deadpan Jack Reacher type, and which might also work better if Christian weren’t building a child army of illegal hackers using savant skills to commit crimes. It’s just… weird.
But the obsession with dicey brother relationships returning director Gavin O’Connor demonstrated with the MMA fighters in Warrior rears its head again, and perhaps not surprisingly it’s the strongest element of the film. Affleck and (be still my heart) Bernthal have a juicy dynamic that flirts with buddy comedy and I’m here for it. Who knew Affleck’s straight man and Bernthal’s OTT ham were a flavour the movies needed. Brax whining to Christian about not getting quality time with his new cat? No, seriously. Major plot point there. And it’s fabulous. It’s those little details – beer on the Airstream roof, hanging out in an LA saloon, phone call hang-ups and petulant replies – the two actors effortlessly bask in and that raises the material above its station, a must with less stylistic flair on display this time. Rumour has it The Accountant 3 (Cubed?) is on the way, and that it will indeed be a buddy pic. Here’s hoping G.But turns up as the long lost third brother.