The transition from fun one-off movie to franchise IP is a tough jump not all films can pull off. Especially without sacrificing lots of quality (see: all Halloween films). I wasn’t sure how The Accountant was going to do this, especially with its fun but puzzling first feature. Well, director Gavin O’Connor did his homework, and has successfully set up a tax attorney to deliver high profit margins for Amazon/MGM. Or, at least, a great direct to streaming passable entertainment for the next few years.
Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) has gone back into hiding since his last blow up 8 years ago. But he gets pulled back into the fold by the US Treasury Manager Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) whom he met in Chicago all those years ago. A mysterious person (Daniella Pineda) has pulled in Wolff’s retired boss Raymond King (JK Simmons), who asks Medina to “find the accountant.” Wolff’s hunt for this person needs some moral flexibility and seedy underbelly understanding, requiring Wolff to do the unthinkable: call his younger brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) and tell him “he misses him and he needs his help.”
What O’Connor does with The Accountant is treat that name like it’s a superhero name. Like the Fast & Furious movies, we’re fully in that territory now, with Christian using his brains and brawn to bring justice to the bad people. While the action stuff is fun enough, frankly, O’Connor deserves some sort of award for turning tax law into the best parts of this movie. There’s a shakedown at a pizza distributor in the middle, where Wolff’s mind logic’s through the seemingly ok looking bullsh*t the owner feeds him. Affleck’s monotone, quick delivery leaves the audience in awe as he solves puzzle after puzzle, using deductive reasoning and whatever numerical information he has at his disposal, with Cynthia Addai-Robinson doing what Anna Kendrick did in the first movie, mouth agape in awe. While the gun game is necessary at some point, I hope future Accountant endeavors work in more paperwork, a statement I can’t believe is true but could only work in this specific film with this specific character.
So what do superheroes need? A sidekick, of course. Affleck is doing autistic Batman, so he needs an over the top gregarious emotional badass to be his equal and opposite. Elevating Jon Bernthal in The Accountant 2 has given us the real formula for repeatable success. Bernthal’s place at the center of a big film is long overdue, as he couldn’t be more ready to give everything he is to Braxton. His brash emotional responses wonderfully act like nails on a chalkboard to Christian, who in turn irritates his little bro by being caustic and distant, eg himself. It’s the Rain Man scenario, where nothing can change…but we don’t really want it to, as the pair only get funnier as they get agitated or excited. The initial meeting and bar sojourn are the highlights of the film, as Bernthal and Affleck have a blast sniping at each other, as a horrified Cynthia Addai-Robinson looks on, wondering what she’s gotten herself into.
You don’t need to really care about The Accountant 2’s convoluted plot and too heavy handed storytelling. Just stay for the vibes, especially when Bernthal shows up. While I liked the first Accountant, I like 2 more, and can’t wait for more of Affleck and Bernthal together, hamming it up in their garbage action franchise. We saw Christian speed dating in this one; can’t wait for double dating with Braxton and the Wolff!