Nine years ago I saw the The Accountant and found it to be one of the best films of the year, rating it three-and-a-half stars. I saw it again this past weekend and was amazed at how little I actually remembered of it. That isn’t a slight upon the film, which I now rate a solid three stars, but on my aging memory, which seems to be less and less reliable as I get older. This new adventure is just as cold-blooded and violent as the first one, perhaps more so, but it continues the same fine stylistic qualities of the first one and is quite enjoyable, if one is in the mood for this sort of thing.
Gavin O’Connor’s film reunites four major characters from the first story. The titular accountant, Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), is asked to help Treasury agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robins0n) solve the murder of her former boss, Ray King (J. K. Simmons). Seeing the inevitable violence that this case will lead to, Chris enlists the help of his lethal brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal). The tenuous triangle of do-gooders faces an uphill battle of battling anonymous cold-blooded killers while trying to decipher the human trafficking puzzle at the middle of the activity.
It’s a complex situation to begin with, made more complicated by the uncomfortable relationship of the three main characters — but that is the heart of the movie. Chris and Braxton haven’t seen each other in eight years; Marybeth wants to follow the law and is appalled by the excesses the brothers use to collect information; Chris tries to find a date but fails spectacularly; Braxton wants a dog but finally settles for something better. It isn’t a requirement to see the first movie to understand who these people are, or what they mean to each other, but it surely helps. And it’s just as rewarding as the first film in that regard.
Even more attention is paid to the Harbor Neuroscience aspect of the story this time around. I understand very little of how the Harbor people do what they do to help Chris and I’m not sure how believable it actually is, but it is presented beautifully, with plenty of style and humor. The buildup to the explosive climax of the story feels a bit rushed and there is no familial payoff for the victim, which surprised me, but all in all this is a worthy followup to a film I greatly admired nine years ago. If only all sequels were this strong, the cinematic world would be a much finer place. ☆ ☆ ☆. 7 May 2025.