Directed By Gavin O’Connor

Starring – Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson

The Plot – When her former boss is killed by unknown assassins, Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina (Addai-Robinson) is forced to contact Christian Wolff (Affleck) to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax (Bernthal), Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio draw the attention of some of the most ruthless killers alive, all intent on putting a stop to their search.

Rated R for strong violence, and adult language throughout.

The Accountant 2 | Official Trailer 2

POSITIVES

Without a doubt, my favorite aspect about the first movie was the brotherly dynamic between Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal, and while with the original that was deduced to the third act, as a result of it serving as a gut-punching, last-minute twist, here it reserves center stage in a movie that surprisingly deviates to feeling like a buddy comedy at times. It helps that Affleck and Bernthal’s chemistry is impeccable towards emulating the bickering banter and neurotic tendencies of siblings, even those who have been distanced for a majority of their lives, however their strongest quality towards depiction is that unspoken bond between them that not only is a pleasure to experience them unloading on a barrage of enemies, but also solidifies assistance whenever each of them needs it, regardless of their unconfronted pasts towards one another, and it makes for an entertainingly rewarding engagement that energizes each time a scene is devoted entirely to them being simultaneously in frame, surprisingly offering just as many laughs as it does compelling drama, for a franchise whose first installment could be described as gloomily somber. Another welcome expansion is in the world-building of the narrative, with this underground society of gifted children who cleverly and remarkably assist Christian in his accounting of this newfound mystery. The ways that these kids are able to attain vital information towards uncovering a tightly guarded aspect of the case is inspiring enough, but it’s doubled down when you appreciate once more how Gavin O’Connor takes ample time to depict the gifted side of youths irresponsibly defined as challenged, and while none of this secret society was even hinted at during the original installment, its inclusion here kept the developments of the movie’s mystery compelling, when the storytelling itself started to wither, serving as some much-needed expansion that felt like one of the only aspects that tied these two films together seamlessly in their comparison and contrasting to one another. On the opposite end of that spectrum, the film depends far more heavily on an aforementioned comedic side to its helming that keeps the engagement light, despite the dark and terrifying realities of its established conflict, offering moments of much-needed levity when articulated naturally in the development of the brothers, in ways that seamlessly make us invest and appreciate how tightly this script keeps them in proximity with one another. It’s certainly not perfect, as sometimes entire superfluous sequences, like a speed dating sequence, or a country line dancing scene, go a little too over the top for my personal tastes, but when conjured in an awkward response from Christian, or a care-free demeanor in the devastation that Brax unloads on his targets, elicits effective releases that do go a long way towards maintaining the atmospherically engaging responses from the audience, during a two hour runtime, with an ambitiously bold decision from O’Connor paying off tremendously to the movie’s favor. As far as technical merits go, the confrontationally chilling emphasis of the movie’s sound design makes every fired round of ammunition feel as closely resonating and unmistakably impactful as any action movie that I’ve seen this year, particularly during an adrenaline-fueled climax during the third act that feels riveting with the kind of complete presentation that works concisely with one another in order to craft a danger and vulnerability factor for those involved. The production’s amplification of these alarming environments certainly go a long way towards enveloping audiences in the depths of the devastation, but they would be stunted without O’Connor’s decision to bring back original cinematographer, Seamus McGarvey, back into the fray, and with some meticulously measured framing of handheld photography, that rhythmically rattles the rounds of seemingly endless ammunition, McGarvey gauges without compromising the integrity and clarity of every shot, cementing a virtuoso text book towards mainstream action that demands every dollar to see it in the biggest auditorium imaginable. Bringing it back once more to Affleck and Bernthal isn’t even close to overkill, as their respective work goes a long way towards not only evoking the pathos and evolution of their characters, but also unlimited opportunity towards the kind of unwavering charisma that each of them has towards captivating a uniqueness in their respective deliveries. Deservingly worthy of praise, Affleck has elicited some of his best acting as Christian, both with the monotonously rapid deliveries of his confidently prophetic assessments, and the internal disconnect from humanity that illustrates the isolation factor of the character. With his brother back in the fold, it’s easy to understand how Christian is able to come out of that shell a bit by exuding a personality that mostly wasn’t there during the first installment, and Affleck really brings an empathetic longing to the depiction that is appealing, despite his investigative side being so intellectually advanced. As for Bernthal, he brings all of the resiliency and physicality that have defined so many of his roles over the last decade, but with an equally endearing underlining immaturity to Brax that can be both dangerous and delightful to endure under the same broad stroke, with Bernthal’s corrosive contact with outsiders presenting the biggest examples for his character’s own bouts with prolonged loneliness in his personal life.

NEGATIVES

As many elements that are different about this sequel, those that remain the same are just as integral towards its finished product, with the mystery of the script once again serving as the weakest link between them, which also serve as its greatest detractor to the ambitious runtime. There is some advancement here, with a detestable antagonist who I truly couldn’t wait to see get their turn with deserved justice, but the narrative developments are told in ways that feel every bit as convoluted as they do sloppy in their balance to the far more exciting brotherly dynamic that was previously mentioned, and considering these developments are left to be steered by the film’s least exciting character, in Cynthia Addai-Robinson’s Mary Beth Medina, it feels like the energy has zapped itself from the room any time that Affleck or Bernthal aren’t present on the screen, with a late-act twist that was just as predictable as the one that linked Brax to Christian during the first film. This conflicting interpretation can be felt the loudest during the second act, where the developments of the script remain halted in place for a bit longer than necessary, and though it comes as a result of O’Connor accentuating the aforementioned brotherly dynamic that cement the film’s best scenes, it comes at the cost of the urgency factor of this investigation that served as the initial movements to the film’s opening moments, where I felt like I was going through the motions towards a big reveal that I constantly remained a few steps ahead of. On the topic of script issues, the action, while articulated breathlessly between the many elements of the movie’s production, are unfortunately too rare in a film clocking in at two hours, leaving some wasted opportunities in the fold, as a result of its dependency towards human, which eventually compromises the execution of certain sequences. One such example pertains to this scene inside of a country music bar, where the brothers are confronted by some cowboys upset by Christian moving in on a woman they like, and while the outcome of the conflict is entirely predictable, the script’s decision to use it as a comedic bit, with a quick cut to the end result, completely wastes away an opportunity for an exciting set piece, leaving the action book-ended between the first and third acts, without anything closely resembling it during the lengthy second.

OVERALL
“The Accountant 2” is a bigger and bolder installment than its moodily atmospheric predecessor, giving us a surprisingly effective amount of comedic gags and expansive world-building that hints that this franchise is just getting started. While the action is limited throughout an overlong runtime and a meandering mystery, the mesmerizing work between Affleck and Bernthal keeps the minutes from feeling taxing, solidifying a fun but ferocious engagement that somehow balances the darkly depraved subplots of its uncovering mystery with the hilariousness of brothers bickering, proving thrills and chills for mainstream audiences everywhere

My Grade: 7.8 or B