Cast: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, J. K. Simmons
Director: Gavin O’Connor
Platform: In cinemas from 25 April 2025
Rating out of 5:★★1/2
There’s a moment in The Accountant 2, somewhere between the fourth dead body and
the fifth incomprehensible plot twist, when I wondered aloud, “Who, exactly, is this
for?” It’s not that the film is bad. It’s more that it’s so wrapped up in its own strange
mythology that it forgets the reasons we go to the movies in the first place: to be
moved, surprised, or at the very least, entertained.
Ben Affleck returns as Christian Wolff, a forensic accountant on the autism spectrum
who doubles as a precision assassin. If that sounds implausible, it’s because it is. But
the first film managed to turn that implausibility into something oddly compelling.
This sequel tries to do the same trick, only louder, longer, and with more exposition. It
doesn’t quite work.
who doubles as a precision assassin.
The story kicks off with the murder of a former Treasury agent, drawing Christian
back into a world of violence and high-stakes number-crunching. He reunites with his
brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal), a fellow mercenary with anger issues and a
surprisingly warm heart. Their chemistry is the film’s strongest asset, sometimes.
Bernthal, brings a raw, unpredictable energy to every scene he’s in but ultimately his
character seems two dimensional – the goofy comic relief but it doesn’t seem genuine.
Director Gavin O’Connor stages the action with competence, but that’s not a good
thing. There was not one fight sequence in the film that impressed – all of them
followed the same procedure of what a fight sequence should be, and that’s why it fell
flat.
But my biggest gripe with the film, and where it stumbles the most, is in its tone. It
wants to be gritty and emotional, but also quirky and self-aware. Scenes of Christian
trying to learn line dancing or game a speed dating algorithm feel like they’ve
wandered in from another film entirely, a lighter, funnier one that might’ve been more
enjoyable but didn’t fit in this universe.
There are attempts at deeper meaning here. The film introduces a team of
neurodivergent hackers, led by the nonverbal Justine (played by Allison Robertson),
in an apparent effort to show inclusivity. The intention is admirable, but the execution
is muddled. These characters aren’t given enough time to be real people, they’re chess
pieces in a game that feels pre-programmed.
Watching The Accountant 2, I kept waiting for a spark, something unpredictable, a
revelation, a moment of grace. Instead, the film moves forward like its lead character:
precise, methodical, and emotionally detached. There’s skill here, and even a kind of
sincerity. But like so many sequels, it assumes we care more than we actually do.
By the end, we’re left with a movie that is not quite thrilling, not quite profound, and
not quite absurd enough to be fun but it tries all three. Jack of all, but accountant of
none.
