At long last, the sequel we’ve all been waiting for has arrived. Gavin O’Connor, Ben Affleck, and Jon Bernthal return for The Accountant 2 nearly a decade after the original’s release, elevating the stakes and toning down the self-seriousness of its predecessor. The film follows Christian Wolff (Affleck) and his brother Braxton (Bernthal) as they get caught up in a federal investigation into the death of former FinCEN director Ray King (J.K. Simmons).
This is, admittedly, an odd property to make into a franchise, especially considering the original was released in 2016. The Accountant earned $155 million at the worldwide box office against its $44 million budget, making it a surprise hit that year. Its success in the physical media market and continual reruns on cable solidified it as a certified dad movie classic. Even with its success, it’s hard to fathom making a follow-up this late to a film about an autistic accountant with no lingering storylines to follow from the first installment.
This interesting attempt at franchising brings back most of the same cast and crew, including director Gavin O’Connor, writer Bill Dubuque, and cinematographer Seamus McGarvey. It’s fascinating that the same creative team is behind this, because it couldn’t be more different than its predecessor. The original was a grounded, albeit absurd story that was pretty self-contained. The Accountant 2 is anything but grounded and self-contained.
The convoluted plot tries to weave several plots into one jumbled mess, almost as if the script was given one pass stuffed with fun ideas but never polished to hone in on its strengths and core narrative. Christian and Brax’s reunion, the investigation into Ray’s murder, a missing person’s case, and a human trafficking ring are a bit much to shove into one film under two hours. These plots are often warring for attention, with the least serious one coming through the strongest.
At its best, the film is a blast with Bernthal hamming it up and Affleck giving him the space to do so. We get to see Ben Affleck do a line dance in a country bar, which justifies this film’s existence in an otherwise unnecessary scene. Outside of these buddy comedy moments, however, the movie loses itself in all the plot machinations it attempts to make sense of. It was difficult to follow what was happening and how they were supposed to connect. I do know that Christian Wolff dislocates a guy’s shoulder in the middle of a pizza factory, but it’s hard to make much out of what comes the rest of the way.
While the plot is all over the place and the film’s tone can’t decide if it wants to be a self-serious action drama or an obtusely self-aware action comedy, it boasts impressive action sequences, especially the final shootout. O’Connor is a master of capturing action, but in a more unusual sense. His sports films, Miracle (2004), Warrior (2011), and The Way Back (2020), have been heralded for their depictions of the sport on display. Basketball is especially hard to film, but The Way Back has some of the best basketball scenes of all time from a technical perspective. O’Connor and McGarvey combine to shoot the final dazzling gunfight in a way that leaves the messy thriller behind to end on a high note.
Ultimately, The Accountant 2 is successful in its goals. Its plot need not be coherent when Affleck and Bernthal charm their way through the movie. Although I didn’t personally need a follow-up to the original, I can see them taking this franchise further than this installment.
Christian and Brax’s dynamic together was a jolt of energy that this world needed, and it would be fun to explore their relationship as they become more involved in each other’s lives. I look forward to seeing this on some Top 10 Dad Movies of the Year lists in December and hope audiences go out to support the accounting profession.
Review by Cameron K. Ritter
Feature Image Credit to Amazon MGM and Warner Bros.