The Accountant 2 (15)

The past returns to haunt young Treasury agent Marybeth Medina when someone close to her dies and their final words, etched on their arm, are: "Find the accountant". Understanding the cryptic message, Marybeth tracks down mathematical genius Christian Wolff aka The Accountant and entreats him to help her crack the case. Christian is subsequently reunited with his brawny brother Braxton and he provides additional firepower when the investigation attracts unwanted attention.

LondonNet Film Review

The Accountant 2 (15) Film Review from LondonNet

Fans of gunfights, action drama, tales of fraternity and neurodivergent superpowers will get a kick out of the Ben Affleck-fronted follow-up to 2016’s The Accountant. We catch up with Affleck’s Christian Wolff, a savant accountant who does the financial dirty work of some of the world’s most dangerous criminals, as he’s contacted by US treasury agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson, reprising the role from the first film). She needs help solving a murder committed by an unknown assassin…

What follows is a raucous ride through impressive action sequences, plenty of shoot-outs and super-cool fistfights, with an emotional undercurrent centred around Chris’s relationship with his brother Braxton, played by Jon Bernthal. The murder victim in question is former financial crimes enforcement network director Raymond King, played by JK Simmons, who is gunned down while working on a case. Marybeth calls on Chris, who in turn calls on his muscled-up hard man brother, and the trio work through the intricate puzzle that is the murder case with the help of Chris’s nonverbal remote assistant Justine (Allison Robertson) and her legion of young, autistic hackers-in-training.

What sets The Accountant films apart from the myriad others in the genre is Chris’s neurodivergence, and that of his associates, which is largely portrayed with good humour and a sentiment of inclusion, not least because the film cast many autistic actors. Affleck’s opening scene as Chris in The Accountant 2 sees him game a speed-dating algorithm by making his profile mathematically perfect, only to fumble the human interaction in person.

This is an entertaining way to reintroduce the character while highlighting his isolation: a key plot point, as the film goes on to explore Chris’s reunion with his estranged brother, the contract killer Braxton. The fraternal subplot adds a depth of emotion to the story, and Bernthal subverts his character’s tough-guy stereotype with vulnerability, playfulness and a great sense of humour. Affleck’s performance as Chris provides the yin to Braxton’s yang: he’s frank and serious, while Brax is fiery and funny, but as the story develops, the brothers learn to love each other in a surprisingly sentimental turn.

The plot, timely as it is with themes of human trafficking and cruelty to undocumented immigrants, is complicated – almost convoluted – but it’s easy enough to have fun with the cheesy action scenes and high-octane drama peppered throughout. The action is entertaining, for sure, but the real lifeblood of The Accountant 2 is the buddy comedy vibe of Chris and Brax’s sibling bickering as they try their best to connect through their unconventional work. Gavin O’Connor’s film is nothing ground-breaking but is nonetheless a fun night out at the cinema.

– Rachael Davis