The Accountant 2 continues to try to make a case the Predators were on to something when they tried to weaponize autism in Shane Black’s 2018 entry.

Ben Affleck returns as the autistic hitman who moonlights as an accountant for unsavory types (and the occasional regular joe). Jon Bernthal is back as his brother. J.K. Simmons and Cynthia Addai-Robinson reprise their roles as treasury agents.

The Accountant quietly succeeded in 2016 with its interesting twist on the action-hero archetype. It lost a bit of steam during its climax, but this isn’t the 1980s anymore. We need to take what we can get. For now, how does the sequel measure up to the original?

This review will be mostly spoiler-free.

 

The Accountant 2

Original director Gavin O’Conner and original writer Bill Dubuque return for the sequel. This kind of continuity should ensure more of the same, but The Accountant 2 seems to challenge itself to expand these characters, for better or worse.

Affleck and Bernthal are older now and have grown aware of the emptiness of their lone-wolf lifestyles. This awareness is not necessarily all about schmaltz, however. The bulk of it is played for laughs. For example, Affleck tries speed dating. Bernthal wants to buy a dog.

This hurts Affleck’s character the most. While he was cool and proficient in the first film, he is more of a bumbler here. On the other hand, Bernthal acquits himself well. He creates a likeable character that is part-killer and part-annoying, younger brother. The film should have focused more on their “odd-couple,” “buddy-cop” relationship. It is when the movie is at its best.

Instead, The Accountant 2 expands on Affleck’s support system. We get more of his friend with the “English” accent. She has a team this time around. They work together behind the scenes to facilitate everything Affleck needs to accomplish.

A viewer’s mileage may vary on this. On one hand, it dilutes Affleck’s effectiveness. On the other hand, it is a neat idea, albeit slightly too cute.

 

The Accountant 2 Live Crew

This time Affleck battles human traffickers. A movie can’t go wrong with Nazi or human trafficker villains. However, the plot ends up a bit muddy. I’m still not exactly sure why Simmons was doing what he was doing in the beginning of the film.

While Affleck’s character can easily see the connections between everything with his preternatural mind, I felt less sure of things. The gist is certainly clear, but the path the movie takes between factions comes off as unnecessarily convoluted for no other reason than to make Affleck seem like a genius for figuring it out.

An additional problem is that The Accountant 2 spends time creating an opponent that looks to be a great match for Affleck’s character. The character is played by Daniella Pineda (Jurassic World: Dominion), who resembles a Mexican Florence Pugh. In this case, a viewer can believe a five-foot-nothing Pineda has a chance against six-foot-something Affleck because her fighting skills are augmented by autism powers.

Yet, Affleck and Pineda never face off. Instead, Affleck and Bernthal deal with cannon-fodder characters. Surprisingly, The Accountant 2 is light on action sequences. It only has a couple of scuffles before the more beefed-up climax.

One can tell they realize they are making a sequel to a modestly successful movie that came out nine years ago. Therefore, everyone involved seems to be budget conscious and hopes to get by on relationship dynamics rather than bullet dynamics.

 

The Accountant 2 Fast 2 Furious

Add up the numbers, and The Accountant 2 balances out as average. It is fun to revisit these characters, but one wishes they blew more stuff up, and that a face-off between prodigy killers happened.

For what it’s worth, my wife watched this one. It wasn’t for charitable reasons either. She greatly enjoyed the first film. She rated this sequel five stars. She appreciates the characters and how the film seemed more cerebral than action-packed.

As a person who cut their teeth on Chuck Norris, Schwarzenegger and Stallone films, I can’t go that high. The Accountant was a solid watch. The Accountant 2 is a notch below it. One thing that made the first work was how it showed the origin of the brothers under the tutelage of their  hardcore father. Stuff like that is completely absent in the second, and it is missed.

This is an accurate accounting. Franchises depreciate over time…

 

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