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Join UsStar Cast: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, J.K. Simmons, and Daniella Pineda.
Director: Gavin O’Connor
What’s Good: The chemistry between Affleck and Bernthal is amazing, and makes for the parts of the film.
What’s Bad: Everything from the plot to the mystery to the action feels pretty generic, which is disappointing.
Loo Break: Any moment in the first act before the two main characters join forces for real is a good time.
Watch or Not?: Yes, watch it if you liked the first one or need a fun film to kill time.
Language: English (with subtitles).
Available On: Theaters
Runtime: 120 Minutes.
User Rating:
Opening:
Hollywood is dying, or so many analysts say, when it has become clear that it is harder than ever for audiences to want to leave their house and go to the cinema when there are so many other quality options at home. The Accountant 2 might be a good case for why audiences are staying at home, and it is not because it is a bad film, but because it is just not good enough to generate the word-of-mouth it needs to be a juggernaut at the box-office, and this is the case with basically most Hollywood films at the moment.
The Accountant 2 Movie Review: Script Analysis
The first The Accountant came as a surprise almost ten years ago when Ben Affleck and Gavin O’Connor simply dropped the film in theaters and made good box-office numbers with an original film, which was not normal even then. However, that was a time when the dominance of streaming services was not as big as it is today, so when The Accountant 2 arrives now in theaters, it feels almost like a relic from the past, dated, and something more deserving of being on Max or Netflix than in theaters.
The thing is that while the original film felt like a solid entry into the “special secret assassin agent” genre, with a main character that used his autism almost like a superpower, this sequel feels like a generic version of that premise, with the main character, Christian Wolff, feeling more like a normal dude. As a result, everything that follows this strange case involving the treasury of the United States feels like the sort of plot you make to fill out time.
So, both the characters and the story they are in feel very much like something O’Connor and writer Bill Dubuque came up with to pitch a film. However, the premise or the plot is never developed to the level where you care about the outcome. Instead, the film leans heavily on the chemistry of its actors, and both Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal deliver in spades. However, the treatment of the characters also feels off, as if they were part of some other film.
It is my suspicion that this might have been the case. The Accountant 2 was actually created as another film and later renamed to fit the franchise. Why? Because all the elements that made the first one special are very much absent here, especially when it comes to Wolff’s condition and how he uses it to solve puzzles, analyze data, and plan and execute plans.
The Accountant 2 Movie Review: Star Performance
Ben Affleck is an amazing professional. He has been doing films for a long time, and so there is no doubt he can carry a film, and he does. Affleck’s chemistry with his co-star Jon Bernthal is basically the heart of the film, and as such, the entire film builds around it, which ends up being quite a fantastic decision because the pair just works both in the serious scenes and in the funny ones.
The film is actually a lot funnier than people believe, and both actors play very well off each other. In fact, they do it so well that without them, the film would fall apart. The rest of the cast is solid, but our two main protagonists are the heart and soul of the film. They might not look like brothers, but they sell the relationship beautifully with great comedic timing and funny banter.
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The Accountant Movie Review: Direction, Music
Here is where The Accountant 2 doesn’t meet the expectations, which is weird and sad because Gavin O’Connor has already proved himself with the original film. However, they decided to go into a more action-flick route that made everything more generic. This could have been great if the action had been met with amazing direction and exciting scenes, but none of the action sequences go hard enough to warrant a little “wow” throughout the runtime.
The mystery and investigation sections of the film also feel a bit lackluster in terms of framing and editing, which is one of the reasons the film looks so much like a film that could have gone straight to streaming services instead of a theatrical release. Either way, O’Connor can do so much better than this, and he has done much better than this, so we expect more from him in the future.
The Accountant Movie Review: The Last Word
The Accountant 2 is a fun film that has forgotten why it got a sequel in the first place. Affleck and Bernthal show why they are not only the main characters in the movie but also why they are paid the big bucks; their charisma and screen presence are incredible, all accompanied by amazing chemistry that lights up the film, even in its duller moments. We were only expecting a bit more quality when it comes to the writing and the action sequences, but other than that, The Accountant 2 is a fun film to pass the time.
The Accountant Trailer
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