The Accountant 2: Uninspiring, Wasted Potential

The Accountant had a solid backstory, and the hero had rock-solid motivation to achieve something bigger than himself, while righting a wrong that would ripple its way in the underworld, and in an everyman's life, setting things back in order. The Accountant 2 has none of this and gives up all the mystique it worked on building in the first place in a fraction of the time.

TMJ Rating: 🍿🍿/ 5

The Plot of The Accountant 2

Christian Wolff is the neurodivergent accountant for people in the grey yet well-funded areas of society, such as mobsters, launderers, and people into organized crime. After chasing, hunting down, and eliminating the people who murdered his in-prison accounting mentor, Wolff calls on his brother to solve the murder of Raymond King, a former US Treasury Agent.

The only clue that the U.S. Treasury Deputy Director Marybeth Medina, played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson, is the writing "Find the Accountant" on King's arm. This leads to an unlikely yet expected team-up between brothers and a highly reluctant Treasury Director while they go on a merry rampage, tightening their bond as brothers and doing some good along the way.

It is funny to see Affleck playing an autistic man trying to score at a speed dating event by trying to pull off a neurotypical mindset. Also, it warms the cockles of your heart to see the brothers reconnecting, despite their long absence from each other.

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But these plot devices are mere trifles compared to the stakes in The Accountant, the first time over, where he Affleck has to deal with complex issues that are deeply personal to him as opposed to generic motivations such as liberating people who have been trafficked, while again helping out Medina with finding King's killer. None of this connects personally with the lead protagonist or his brother to any extent.

The Cast of The Accountant 2

While the performances of the cast are beyond reproach, there is only so much that the actors can do to elevate the script and the storyline. That being said, let's go over how the cast went through the motions this time over.

Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Marybeth Medina is as expressive as ever and maintains a similar level of discomfort interacting with Aflleck's neurodivergent self.

Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff seems to be making more efforts to blend in as a neurotypical over time as his character in this sequel, but once again, the plot being what it is, he can only do so much.

Jon Bernthal as Braxton, Aflleck's neurotypical brother, is introduced to us in detail in this sequel, with him carrying the same level of swagger I've seen in Baby Driver, and I honestly think he is just being himself in this particular role. You see Affleck and Bernthal engage with each other as siblings, with Bernthal mostly trying to annoy his brother as a form of showing love, and Affleck resisting the urge to "sock him in the mouth," as he says.

Daniella Pineda as Anaïs is wasted completely as the random person McGuffin who seems to be the central plot element, which you learn more about as the movie progresses.

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Allison Robertson as Justine looks effortlessly beautiful and is revealed to be the neurodivergent "person in the chair", as Ned Leeds would say in Spider-Man. She is Wolff's handler in all his endeavors and provides enhanced tech support, of which MI6 would be envious.

J. K. Simmons as Raymond King in an intense fight scene is one of the few reasons you would tolerate some of this movie's run time. It almost makes you wish for an action movie with Simmons as the everyman lead who is on a mission for justice, revenge, or something equally bada$$.

Should You Watch It? Only if you have Prime Video

This movie is nowhere near the first in terms of plot, and you won't miss out on anything if you decide to skip it. However, if you have Prime Video, I'd love to know what you think about this sequel that could've been a hella lot better.