It’s rare that an action thriller ignores the action as much as The Accountant 2 does, but there will be periods of time in the film when you wonder when the fighting might happen. There are bursts of action, and some impressive sequences, but for a film franchise that should be hanging its hat on these types of set pieces, there simply aren’t very many and the finale will leave you a bit unsatisfied in that regard.
What we do get a lot of in the film is character stuff, which is all well and good (stories don’t work without it), but the balance feels off. Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff simply isn’t that interesting this time around, and Affleck’s stilted Forrest Gump meets Rain Man performance is a lot weirder, and not in a good way. There is that strange thing he’s doing with his voice that doesn’t feel as consistent, and only really works when Jon Bernthal’s more dynamic Braxton mocks it. Affleck’s performance felt smoother the first time around, as it was new to us; this time it gets repetitive, and we keep expecting something more.
The franchise is set up to be about the adventures of odd couple / heroic mercenary brothers, Brax and Chris, who combine violence with super genius to save those in need. This could be really fun. Bernthal does such a good job carrying the comedy, action, and even drama in the scenes between the two men that you at times forget how long it’s been since there was a strong set piece. The two of them play off each other well, and you can see real potential for another movie, or more beyond that — so long as the narrative and the action are there to support the two stars. In The Accountant 2, they frankly aren’t.
Ben Affleck, Kevin Halloran, Matt Damon, Jamie Patricof, Lynette Howell Taylor, Scott LaStaiti, Michael Joe, Mark Williams, Alison Winter
Pros & Cons
Jon Bernthal is phenomenal and even brings out the best of Affleck.
There’s not enough action, and when there is, it’s not remarkable.
The story is convoluted and unrealistic.
Ben Affleck’s performance is monotonous.
The film’s problems lie in a combination of its plot and the somewhat vanilla nature of the action we do get. The story surely bites off more than it can chew, setting up a complex web of crimes tracing back to a missing person case related to a family’s ill-fated border crossing. The mother of the family becomes more deeply connected to other threads of the plot in ways that are just a bit silly, but no spoilers here.
Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Daniella Pineda, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, and director Gavin O’Connor discuss ‘The Accountant 2’ in this press conference.
In the end, the heroic brothers team up to save the day and find a resolution to their challenged relationship. If you enjoy light banter, problem-solving, and spurts of gun play, The Accountant 2 delivers at the most basic level. If you’re the type of person who either needs more action, or who gets frustrated by plot devices that ask a bit too much in terms of suspension of disbelief, it’s likely this one will leave you frustrated.
The Returning Cast of ‘The Accountant 2’
Bernthal really does crush it as Braxton, while Affleck’s return to Wolff leaves something to be desired. The rest of the cast includes some new characters as well as returns from the first entry in the series. Cynthia Addai-Robinson is back as Marybeth Medina, who has a critical role in the story this time. Affleck himself even referred to her as being the protagonist of the story, which might be part of why his character seems somewhat off in the proceedings. Addai-Robinson does a solid enough job without a ton of meat on the bone, her main character issue seeming to be the search for a decent desk chair.
Daniella Pineda and Cynthia Addai-Robinson discuss their roles as Anaïs and Marybeth Medina in ‘The Accountant 2.’
J.K. Simmons returns as Ray King, and his role is pivotal to the film’s jumping off point. Daniella Pineda joins the cast as a critical badass assassin character who occupies a bit of a gray area. The action sequences allow for all the players to get their hands dirty, but the fighting is all a bit too familiar. There aren’t set pieces or sequences that take us into an experience we haven’t had before, and the stakes feel pretty low until the final confrontation when innocents are involved.
A Dynamic Duo in Need of a Better Film
Great action movies tend to combine innovative set pieces with just enough character threads to create compelling drama and stakes we care about. The balance between all those things is both tricky and expensive, but when it works (as in the John Wick franchise), it works so well that audiences keep coming back for more.
It certainly worked in The Accountant, but it feels like this attempt to recapture the magic (or build on its foundation) flounders. That said, there is something genuine in the dynamic between Bernthal and Affleck, which leaves plenty of room for further exploration, development, and adventure should the filmmakers, studios, and audiences all combine to demand more. With a better storyline and more action behind them, this could be quite the dynamic duo. A production of Artists Equity, 51 Entertainment, Zero Gravity Management, and Filmtribe, The Accountant 2 will be in theaters on April 25, 2025, from Amazon MGM Studios. There’s a special April 16 screening for tax day; find more information here.
Waits found a creative community almost instantly. In recent years, the city’s experimental downtown music scene had gone overground, and Waits felt a kinship with some of its players. He befriended saxophonist and composer John Lurie, whose band the Lounge Lizards had, in its early days, deconstructed jazz, celebrating the [...]
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