Critics Have Seen The Accountant 2, And This ‘Curiously Messy’ Ben Affleck Action Thriller Is No By-The-Numbers Sequel
Ben Affleck’s got quite a few movies in the works, both as an actor and with his production company, but one of the most anticipated Affleck projects is the long-awaited sequel, The Accountant 2. The two-time Oscar winner is reprising his role as Christian Wolff for the 2025 movie calendar, and critics had the opportunity to screen the action thriller ahead of its April 25 debut in theaters. Let’s see if we want to make this movie part of our weekend plans.
First reactions from The Accountant 2’s SXSW premiere praised the expansion of Jon Bernthal’s role as the title character’s brother Braxton, as the two team up to track down a murderer. Overall, did Ben Affleck avoid the pitfall of making a sequel? Critic Richard Crouse seems to think so, giving it 4 out of 5 stars and writing:
Appropriately released during tax season, this buddy film of two brothers, a neurodivergent accountant and a hitman, is equal parts light and playful and dangerous and dark. With a line dancing scene and a human trafficking ring run out of a pizza company, it’s complicated and messy, but thoroughly entertaining. … The Accountant 2’s unnecessarily complicated plot and serviceable action exist essentially to put Christian and Braxton on screen together, which is fine when the result is as entertaining as this movie.
Kim Newman of Empire, meanwhile, rates the upcoming action movie 3 stars out of 5, echoing the above sentiment that the “impossibly intricate storyline” is just a way to let the kill-crazy good guys loose on thugs who deserve what they’ve got coming. Newman continues:
Affleck and Bernthal make a funny, if morally dubious, double act, as Christian’s autism lets sociopathic hit man Brax think of himself as the ‘normal’ brother. Best bit: the line-dancing scene.
Nearly every review I’ve read mentions Ben Affleck’s character line-dancing, so I wonder if that alone is worth the price of admission? Brian Truitt of USA TODAY says The Accountant 2 isn’t quite as good as its 2016 predecessor, but the dynamic between the two brothers and the filmmakers’ willingness to explore an autistic character make this a satisfying watch. The critic gives it 2.5 out of 4 stars, writing:
The pairing of Affleck and Bernthal is essential. Chris doesn’t get his brother’s jokes, the brash Brax has a bunch of hard feelings he needs to work through, but there’s a gentle warmth between the two actors that makes them a joy to watch. It gives this franchise a secret sauce: These movies could easily be dumb, two-fisted affairs, yet there’s a thoughtfulness in them, alongside a commitment to exploring heroic neurodivergent characters that the usual macho movie wouldn’t even touch.
Jake Coyle of the AP also rates it 2.5 stars out of 4, saying that while Ben Affleck’s “Rain Man shtick” always feels forced, once Jon Bernthal shows up, the sequel clicks into place. Coyle continues:
What place The Accountant 2 occupies probably wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny, let alone an audit. For a movie about a detail obsessive, it’s curiously messy. But — and this might matter more — the film has a reasonably firm sense of just how serious and how knowingly silly a movie about an uber-talented accountant ought to be.
I can definitely get behind “knowingly silly,” but AV Club’s Jacob Oller doesn’t find much to like in this sequel, which he says buries the rapport of its leads in chaotic action, troubling worldviews and generic plotting. It also doesn’t handle the many facets of neurodiversity delicately, Oller says, writing:
The Accountant 2 has all but discarded its basic premise and just wants to shoot as many people in the head as possible. Screenwriter Bill Dubuque now cares little for goofy logic puzzles or secrets squirreled away in tax documents or childhood trauma meted out over endless flashbacks; he wants an action franchise, damn it, and human traffickers are the flavor of the week.
While there are some complaints amongst the critics, the movie has compiled a 79% Fresh score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It sounds like this sequel has dialed down on the numbers from The Accountant (which can be streamed with a Max subscription) in order to ramp up the brotherly love aspect. If you’d like to see more from this neurodivergent ass-kicker, The Accountant 2 hits theaters on Friday, April 25.
