The Accountant 2

This was the one film I wanted to see the most at SXSW and I was lucky enough to see the world premier and left more than pleased. Jon Bernthal really explodes on screen and you can feel the joy he gets from pushing his brothers buttons in the most entertaining way possible. These two have real, believable chemistry and brought something both familiar and unexpected while delivering a story that isn't the same ole buddy trope the way other films seem to struggle. Jon's comic relief blends perfectly with Ben's robotic, emotionlessness. It feels like anything can and will happen at any moment...and it does! I hope we see these two characters together again sooner than later!

I really enjoyed the first 'The Accountant' so had high expectations for the follow up.

Sadly, I was very dissappointed.

The first film had some logic, it made sense, it had a story. So made the all action nonsense plausible and therefore excusable as 'artistic license.

The Accountant 2 is all action nonsense.

It makes very little sense. Very weak on story and logic i.e. Not believable for the audience to invest in it.

E.g. Why would Ray King in retirement, spend all his money 'investigating' alone and particularly for one child ?

Why would Chris (Affleck) reveal his computer help source (Justine) and her location so glibly.

It was absurd how the woman assassin was supposed to be the woman in the picture, It was also absurd how she was more like a terminator than a person.

And there are many more such issues, that prevent the story from flowing logically and therefore immersing the audience in a journey.

Instead you are repeatedly 'jolted' out, asking what? Why? When? Sort of questions, which don't have answers.

Ben Affleck is looking a bit aged and gaunt, but he and the guy who plays Braxton , played their parts compentently, but were let down by the weak script.

It does have some laughs, It's not terrible, just very mediocre, certainly nowhere near as good as the first film.

Would I watch this again ? No, it's too glib and lacks cohesion.

Yet, I have watched the first film several times and I will watch it again.

Very dissappointed and I felt this was a missed opportunity.

Not worth a full price cinema ticket.

I saw an early screening of The Accountant 2. I went in with tempered expectations because a sequel after 9 years feels like a cash grab. To my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie for the entire runtime.

The selective action moments are just as hard-hitting. The characters are just as unique and enjoyable. The character dynamics may even surpass the original. And there are just as many story threads that reach satisfying conclusions. You can tell they put effort and care into this sequel.

The comedy, though?!?! There were some funny moments in the first one. But in the sequel, I laughed out loud so many times, to the point I would list "comedy" as a subgenre. And it's not "insert joke here"-type humor. It's organic to the story and characters.

I would say I still like the original a tiny bit better, especially with the originality and overall story. But with the comedy in the sequel, I scored them both the same. I was extremely satisfied leaving the cinema.

(1 viewing, early screening Super EMX 4/15/2025)

I really like The Accountant. It dared to change the action movie lead role with an autistic character, providing a very interesting role. How would the combination of strengths and weaknesses that The Accountant's condition play out in the dangerous world of international criminals and hitmen?

It was this combination of obsessive/compulsive need for order and completion, combined with an inability to empathise or understand social interactions, that made Affleck's character, Christian Wolff, so interesting.

In the sequel, the writing is not as focused on Affleck in the same way. Instead the focus is on the relationship between him and his brother (Bernthal). While well acted, this simply does not have the same appeal. The movie shines when Wolff's neurodivergence is front and centre, but otherwise it feels like any other generic action-thriller (albeit a well-done one).

The Accountant 2 doubles down on the action and humor over the first film. It does however try to juggle too many subplots that are poorly connected, leading to a less coherent film and a lack of a singular, hateable villain.

On the plus side, making Jon Bernthal a co-lead this time was incredibly smart. He and Affleck have great chemistry and Bernthal's Braxton is both a lethal threat and downright hilarious. This is easily his best role since The Punisher.

Like the first film, action isn't the primary focus, with a lot of time spent on enjoyable character moments. But when the action does arrive, it really delivers. Depending on what the new Mission: Impossible has in store for us, the Juarez shootout in this film may go down as the best action sequence of the year.

Again, I wish more of the character development had been focused on the villains, so we'd have a central antagonist who seems like a real threat. Instead we get several boring micro-villains.

I also wish the writing and editing were working in better harmony to bring us a more coherent story.

But all that said, Affleck and Bernthal have charm to spare, the final act is awesome, and this is a decent follow up to the admittedly better first film. 7/10.