By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
Look, this is a straightforward action romp, no more no less. “The Accountant 2” is a sequel nine years after the first film, featuring much of the same cast and the same writer/director team. So, continuity is not an issue, and the approach of the story is very similar with a puzzling mystery being unwrapped by a genius mind, culminating in brutal violence. While it may not wow, it should at least satisfy.
Eight years after the events in the Chicago area, retired Deputy Director Ray King (J.K. Simmons) is gunned down. Lamenting the loss of her former boss, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) seeks out the assistance of Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) to help puzzle out the mystery of why and who was behind the assassination. Putting his autistically brilliant mind and illegal methods to work, Christian realizes there is a bigger plot at hand with many twists and turns.
Despite the lack of contact over the years, Christian calls on his trigger-happy brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) for help. As the lethal duo get closer to the truth, thugs and murderers target them to permanently put an end to their investigation. Only one thing is certain, it will take cunning and a whole lot of firepower to bring these bad guys to justice.
Gavin O’Connor is a solid director who knows how to give audiences what they want as he’s done to great effect with many of his previous films like “Miracle” and “Warrior.” For this sequel, he implements the same formula he created for the first film. This is a safe approach, and it works fine, but it leads to predictability in the outcomes. He does increase the degree of difficulty by introducing interweaving subplots to deepen the mystery, but this does drag out the ending longer than necessary by having to close the loop on all these subplots. O’Connor also uses a no-frills methodology for the cinematography, sound, and visual effects, so don’t expect a stunning spectacle. Along with the overused action idea of two guys taking on a veritable army, the film feels a bit played out and not at all memorable.
However, O’Connor breathes life into this sequel using well-timed humor. It’s almost as if he knew this wasn’t the most exciting story, so he makes a conscious effort to include comedy throughout the production. For instance, there’s a scene early in the film that shows the main character enduring a speed dating event, which adds no value whatsoever to the overarching storyline, but it generates much needed laughter. He wisely incorporates scenes and moments like this along the way to give the film an amusing boost.
While Ben Affleck may be a two-time Oscar winner, it certainly was not for acting. Despite his limitations as an actor, this role is perfectly suited for him. As a character whose speech is robotic and devoid of emotion, Affleck is able to focus his attention on the action sequences which he performs quite well. For this sequel, he even adds the occasional deadpan humor, which is funnier coming from a character who is always serious. Look for him to star in a crime drama called “RIP” with his long-time friend Matt Damon later this year.
With Affleck playing a stoic, almost soulless character, it is only natural that his co-star Jon Bernthal plays a polar opposite type of role. He perfectly offsets Affleck’s cold and calculating demeanor with his talkative alpha male aggression. Think of a “Tango & Cash” or “Lethal Weapon” type of vibe. Bernthal singlehandedly provides most of the amusement and emotion with his constant wisecracking and careless honesty. As he’s demonstrated many times over, he has this natural line delivery and uncanny ability to ad lib that enhances his character’s authenticity. Coupled with executing fight choreography flawlessly, it simply makes his scenes fun to watch.
“The Accountant 2” is a run of the mill action movie that does not attempt to reinvent the wheel, instead relying on solid execution to provide a satisfactory filmgoing experience. It may not be as good as the first movie, but there’s enough entertainment value to make it worth a watch, especially if you enjoyed that previous installment. If you haven’t watched that 2016 film, then it’s highly recommended you watch that first to get better context and understanding of the various characters, since there’s very little in the way of recap.
This movie earns:
