THE STORY – Forensic accountant Christian Wolff teams up with his estranged but highly lethal brother to track down mysterious assassins.
THE CAST – Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson & J. K. Simmons
THE TEAM – Gavin O’Connor (Director) & Bill Dubuque (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 124 Minutes
Director Gavin O’Connor’s 2016 action thriller, “The Accountant,” introduced Academy Award-winner Ben Affleck as the titular math genius with a penchant for autism and solving puzzles. Armed with a literal arsenal of guns and brainpower, Christian Wolff specializes in money laundering for some of the world’s most dangerous criminals. Part John Wick, part John Nash, Affleck’s Christian is a calculated beast with minimal regard for the people he kills while he protects those he loves.
Close to ten years later, O’Connor and Affleck have teamed up again to continue Chris’s story in “The Accountant 2,” a mighty shift in both tone and premise for a franchise that probably didn’t need a sequel. Trading his fondness for strobe lights and heavy metal music for line dancing in orthopedic shoes, Chris teams up with his brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) to assist Deputy Director Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in solving the murder of retired Treasury Agent Raymond King (J.K. Simmons). But a new villainous, silent assassin (Daniella Pineda) emerges, complicating matters entirely.
There is an enormous change in how O’Connor presents this continuation of Chris’s dirty deeds, especially given that Braxton and his brother are now viewed as altruistic protectors of migrants and would-be sex trafficking victims. Partnering with Agent Medina, the three form a triumvirate that holds all the cards and doesn’t back down under pressure. But the crime-fighting element that stirred the first film shifts here into a buddy road trip comedy that excels in presenting fantastic chemistry between its lead actors while dismissing what made the original movie compelling in the first place.
We get more of a backstory to Chris’s childhood friend and partner Justine (Allison Robertson), a savant and wiz on the computer, a la Chloe O’Brian from “24.” Justine’s team of Harbor Neuroscience residents further aid Chris’s pursuits, expanding the cast of crime fighters who break as many laws as those they want to bring to justice. However, while “The Accountant” goes into depth about Chris’s unusual upbringing and estrangement from his brother, “The Accountant 2” brings everyone together like a big, happy family with very little baggage.
It’s laughable to witness Affleck turn Christian Wolff into a speed dating aficionado with enough courage to line dance at his age in front of complete strangers in a country bar. Gone is the mystique that made Chris intriguing while also promoting Bernthal and Addai-Robinson with beefier roles in the process. Though it’s fun to watch the three return to these characters in new and fun ways, the plot and wordless villain aren’t enough to keep this sequel at bay.
Demonstrating good chemistry onscreen while acting out a story that seeks to understand humanity and connection is a worthwhile endeavor, but Christian and Braxton’s characteristics don’t live up to this huge undertaking. Bernthal and Affleck are top-notch, though, with a whacky script from “The Accountant” writer Bill Dubuque, returning to the screen with dialogue that belongs more in the “The Hangover” franchise than a supposedly sleek thriller, hard-hitting action thriller (which is surprisingly light on the action). We know Gavin O’Connor is capable of telling far more compelling stories, as demonstrated in “Warrior,” “Miracle,” and even “The Way Back,” and although “The Accountant 2” is funnier than the first, it’s not as engrossing in scope and scale, making it a messy sequel that lacks ambition and ingenuity.
