The Island Cinephile

The Accountant 2: More of the Same, with More Humor

Directed by Gavin O’Connor

“The fall didn’t kill him. It was the abrupt stop.”

Christian Wolff

The Accountant 2 bursts onto the scene a staggering 9 years after the release of its parent film – The Accountant. Returning with the same director, Gavin O’Connor, and writer, Bill Dubuque, there is a lot more to love and hate. Essentially an extension of the first film, the second part brings nothing fresh to the table. We are re-introduced to Christian Wolff as he is visibly older and gotten better at social interactions. But beneath all that, a huge conspiracy is taking place with the former FinCEN treasury director Raymond King as he attempts to enlist an assassin named Anaïs to help him locate a Salvadorean family. However, a problem arises and King requests that the accountant is called to solve the case. The current FinCEN director, Marybeth Medina does as he requests and tracks down the accountant through Harbor Neuroscience and receives no luck – until she does.  

Unlike the first film, part two falls short of its parent film in a few ways. Christian Wolff seems to have gotten progressively better at attempting to communicate with others, however this may not always be the case with autistic individuals. The film does not outright mention autism, but they prefer to hint to it through terms like condition or special power. With more laughs than the serious tone of the former, the film attempts to be more lighthearted. This could have worked in the absence of truly serious matters like mass genocides, murder and a few other morbid things like the underworld of prostitution and dangerous cartels. The imbalance between comedic and serious matters are not carefully measured causing an uneven tone. The added quips made it seem more like a comedy whereas the first film left more to be explored with our character. We knew nothing new about the accountant besides the extension of his quirks. The plot seemed a bit haphazard, and the dialogue wasn’t as witty. The action scenes were well-executed and proved to be a treat to see both brothers in action. 

Ben Affleck returns as the Christian Wolff and his brother Jon Bernthal returned as Braxton. Unfortunately, Anna Kendrick is not present as Dana Cummings, but Cynthia Addai-Robinson returns as Marybeth Medina. J.K. Simmons reprises his role but this time as the former Treasury Director. Even more so than the first film, the autism community rejects this one as fictitious rumination of what life is like for an autistic individual. Especially when it came to the room full of exceptional savants, when it extremely unlikely that most would display special abilities as such. 

Nevertheless, The Accountant 2 is a solid sequel that entertains but brings nothing new to the table. It falls short of the completeness of its predecessor as minimal flaws shine through. 

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