‘The Accountant 2’ Makes It Through Another Mission With Entertaining Banter Between Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal

Alci Rengifo

Nine years after “The Accountant” did decently, primarily as a rental, Artists Equity (the company founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) decided that after all this time we want a sequel. “The Accountant 2” doesn’t necessarily require that you remember the first movie by heart. Director Gavin O’Connor and writer Bill Dubuque, who both worked on the original, are after a buddy journey as opposed to the usual assassin rehash. There is still plenty of the ludicrous tropes from every recent hitman movie, which is expected considering there needs to be adequate fan servicing. “The Accountant” gave Affleck his turn in this endless genre of everyday men who turn out to be secret killing machines. Its added bonus was that Affleck’s character was autistic, so the plot spun this idea of the condition opening uncharted portals of the brain. The sequel slightly continues that thread while refocusing on another relationship.

Our neurodivergent hero Chris (Affleck) has been spending his time since the first movie still living in his mobile home, mostly staying in Boise. Sometimes his savant abilities can cause some odd situations, as when he attends a speed dating event and reveals he figured out how to manipulate the registration app in order to get the highest number of matches. What Chris has not been able to adjust is his social awkwardness which ensures he keeps bombing with women. He still receives assignments from Justine (Allison Robertson), the nonverbal autistic savant at the Harbor Neuroscience treatment center in New Hampshire, which functions more like an NSA office. Chris has to drop his routine when Ray King (J.K. Simmons), the treasury department agent from the first movie, is killed by a mysterious assassin. On the hunt already is Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), a treasury agent turned friend of Chris. To catch a killer who seems to vanish at will Chris reaches out to his brother, Braxton (Jon Bernthal), also a skilled assassin and eager to help his sibling lighten up.

The first “Accountant” went through the motions of introducing Chris in a movie that could feel like too much of a slow burner for its own good. There was also an attempt at a love interest (played by Anna Kendrick) that had little chemistry. Her character has been axed from the sequel. The plot of the sequel is leaner though not very compelling. Two movies are fighting for space, one a dragging chase for a mysterious loner assassin, Anaïs (Daniella Pineda), which goes around in circles and the other a funny road trip involving the hitmen brothers. These moments enliven the skeletal screenplay by Dubuque, playing off the hilariously uneven dynamic between Affleck and Bernthal. A flaw in the first movie was how Affleck’s subdued performance was matched by an equally sleepy set of twists, the kind that make you ask “they really couldn’t just have paid a regular hitman?” Now Chris and Braxton find themselves in oddball moments, the best being a showdown at a country western bar where Chris is approached by a woman who wants to square dance. Chris’ savant powers kick in and he’s soon enough showing off on the dance floor before Braxton has to jump in to help him beat up some jealous wannabe cowboys.

There’s genuine, grumpy affection between the siblings that becomes an entertaining action metaphor for growing up with a neurodivergent other half. Had the movie been primarily about that idea it could have been more engaging. As far as action narratives go, “The Accountant 2” doesn’t demand your full attention. This is another one of those where if you step outside to take a quick call you won’t miss too much. It is intriguing how throwaway tropes lead to the movie’s more ludicrously entertaining moments. Anaïs is spotted on security camera footage hiding her face, but not to worry, Chris calls in the neurodivergent kids of Harbor Neuroscience to hack into phones, stage distractions for the owner of a laptop, do facial recognition scanning and other moves that make you wonder who funds this school. Later we get a lesson in acquired savant syndrome with a flashback involving a car crash and unchained sectors of the brain. 

Hollywood has always had this kind of fun with neurological questions and conditions, going back to ‘90s guilty entertainments like “Mercury Rising.” If “The Accountant 2” had opted for a leaner plot instead of rushing into a third act cramming in crime in Ciudad Juarez, human trafficking, orphans, acquired savant syndrome and three endings, it might work better. As it stands, it doesn’t feel like a fully necessary sequel but has the strength of its two leads. Though, rest assured, the final shots are staged in such a way where room is definitely left open for a sequel. Affleck and Bernthal believe in the material and make it feel plausible. Their banter proves more entertaining than any kill shot.

“The Accountant 2” releases April 25 in theaters nationwide.