LOS ANGELES, April 21 (UPI) -- The original Accountant, released in 2016, was a surprising action vehicle for Ben Affleck, who plays an autistic savant whose math skills are only second to his physical prowess. The Accountant 2, in theaters Friday, embraces the absurdity of the premise and has much more fun with it.
Affleck returns as Christian Wolff, a forensic accountant for criminal clients. The film opens with federal Treasury agent Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robbinson), now promoted to the Financial Crime Enforcement Network, reaching out to Christian at the behest of her old boss, Ray King (J.K. Simmons).
Medina is picking up King's search for a family of missing immigrants. Christian agrees to help Medina with her case and begins to analyze the patterns in the trail King was following. He also recruits his brother, hitman Braxton (Jon Bernthal), to help them with the case.
Before Medina and Chris reconnect, the film shows how Chris applies his unique skill set outside of work. He has a funny speed dating scene in which he has calculated the most desirable dating profile, yet is still socially awkward when he meets the women.
While on the case, Chris follows leads on where the missing immigrants worked and pokes holes in a suspect's story. He quickly resorts to physical intimidation with the suspect; the first film established Chris' physical training so it's fun to see him rely on it when logic proves a waste of time.
Braxton captures their sibling rivalry by mocking the way Chris speaks in a monotone and ribbing him for his social foibles. Yet Braxton is fiercely protective and leaps to Chris's defense should anyone else show his brother any disrespect.
The film also has an irreverent take on the extreme characters of a hitman and his savant accountant brother. The actors and filmmakers embrace the absurdity of making these characters the heroes of a movie, but celebrate that they are who the audience came to see.
In one scene, Chris randomly holds a lightsaber, showing both his fandom and the fact that he can afford the most expensive Star Wars prop. Another time, Chris interrupts two negotiations by Braxton, one of which reveals his softer side and the other confirms his brutality.
In the middle of the case, the brothers go out to a country bar in a fun scene that explores both of their character quirks. That screenwriter Bill Dubuque and director Gavin O'Connor are willing to follow these tangents shows they value the characters as much as the main story.
Every time Chris or Braxton use their criminal skills to investigate the case, Medina regrets it but it's too late to stop them. Chris has a network of hackers who invade the privacy of innocent bystanders, but get results that would be impossible through above board detective work.
There is also the issue of the violence both brothers employ. Some viewers may feel human traffickers and assassins deserve corporal punishment, but Medina is sworn to due process, creating an amusing tension.
Affleck maintains his unaffected facial expression and monotone voice during intense fights and shootouts. He's not being stoic like most action heroes, because stoic would imply intellectual distance from violence.
Chris actually cannot perceive the difference between violence and math problems. So he approaches action scenes as just more business that needs to be done.
Since Chris is already comical, Bernthal amps up Braxton's comic relief. It is a buddy movie with an underlying heart because they're brothers, not just mismatched partners on the job.
The Accountant 2 is the kind of sequel that truly singled out the most successful parts of its predecessor and focused on those. With the brothers in place, there is unlimited potential to send them on more adventures, with Medina grudgingly looking the other way.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
