If you haven’t seen The Accountant (2016), give that one a look first. Somewhat because it will certainly give you a head start on all the characters who show up here. But mostly because it is also just a better movie.
This second outing begins with murder. In a meeting with notorious assassin Anaïs (Daniella Pineda), now-retired Federal Treasury investigator Raymond King (J.K. Simmons), a key figure in The Accountant, hands her a picture of a Salvadorean family he wants to locate. Anaïs is more interested in why King is being followed than in taking the job. Ambush. King dies, Anaïs escapes. Too bad; J.K. Simmons is someone you know you’d enjoy watching.
Another figure from the previous tale, buttoned-down, by-the-book Treasury investigator Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) now has King’s old job. As she’s identifying King’s body in the morgue, she notices a message King has scrawled on his arm: Find The Accountant. That would be Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), our autistic hero from the earlier film, who’s a whiz financial analyst and a guy who specializes in outing (or offing) bad guys in the process.
And so we’re off to the races. Unlike The Accountant, which was a puzzler with some action set pieces, The Accountant 2 is more of a straight up actioner with some minor puzzles you’ll probably figure out before the characters in the movie are allowed to.
Medina reluctantly tracks down Wolff, telling him he’s got to conduct this investigation cleanly. So what does Wolff do? He invites his brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal), still a mercenary and assassin, to help out. Some cute “why didn’t you call me earlier” banter between the bros. But they do click as they easily slide into the type of strong-arm “investigation” tactics that Medina can’t stomach. The tipping point comes when Wolff introduces her to a final character from the previous film, his handler Justine (Allison Robertson, voiced by Alison Wright). Freaked out by the illegal electronic tactics Justine’s awesome crew of autistic/savant kids use to peel away layers of the mystery, she strikes out on her own.
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This convoluted thriller has been taped together to provide maximum opportunity for glib banter between Wolff and Brax and maximum carnage as they plow their way through various layers of bad guys, till they reach Burke (Robert Morgan), the really, really bad guy at the center of a child trafficking operation. The action is fine, choreographed for fans of mindless entertainment. So let’s give them a pass.
What’s the best we can say otherwise? All the actors turn in serviceable performances. Affleck once again has a “just good enough” deadpan delivery as the autistic guy who can outthink everyone. Jon Bernthal is likeably sleezy as the guy who is still taking contracts to make bank. Cynthia Addai-Robinson is fine when she’s expressing her aversion for the bros’ antics, but she’s been shunted to the side this time and could have been given more to do.
Alas, no Anna Kendrick, who was the real deadpan comic center of The Accountant. This time Justine’s crew of electronic savants are the ones who steal the show.
In The Accountant, Affleck cruised into the sunset alone, leaving just enough of an opening for this sequel. As the bros of The Accountant 2 cruise into the sunset together, they’re discussing a possible hiking trip together, leaving no doubt that The Accountant 3 is a gleam in the filmmakers’ eyes. Bring back Anna Kendrick and that crew of teenage electronic savants, and I’m in.