Arts & Culture

What: The Accountant 2
Where: In theatres
When: Fri., April 25
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Rating: NNN (out 5)
Why you should watch: Jon Bernthal and Ben Affleck are a joy to watch together as their brotherly bond gives The Accountant 2 a surprising amount of heart.

IT ISN’T EVERY month that two action thrillers are released in which autistic, numbers-based geniuses take on the role of reluctant action hero — that also star Jon Bernthal as an assassin. But that is exactly what April 2025 has delivered. Following Rami Malek’s introverted, number-crunching hero in The Amateur, Academy Award winner Ben Affleck returns as Christian Wolff, the genius, black-market accountant and occasional assassin, in The Accountant 2, the follow-up to 2016’s The Accountant. This time, Wolff is tasked with tracking down the murderer of an old contact from the first movie, former treasury director Ray King (J.K. Simmons in a glorified cameo). To do this, he teams up with returning characters from the first movie: Treasury agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson from The Rings of Power) and Wolff’s brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal).

In giving Bernthal an increased role, director Gavin O’Connor (who also directed the first instalment) strikes gold with a winning bromance that carries much of the film thanks to the film’s two excellent leads. Affleck is completely at ease as Wolff, giving his introverted nature a great deal of charm so that he never feels rude or unlikeable. Early, we see him speed date with little success, yet Affleck carries the scene with perfect comedic timing. In a later bar scene, he puts his charm on full display through humorously trying line-dancing, giving personality to a character who, in the wrong hands, could’ve been too dry and emotionless. Wise-ass Affleck has always seemed promising as an action hero but has never truly made any action role his own, with previous efforts like Reindeer Games and The Sum of All Fears failing to impress. But with Wolff, he embodies the role through to the point where no one else would’ve done it better.

Bernthal is the more extroverted of the pair and, as ever, his screen presence alone electrifies every scene. One of the biggest disappointments of The Amateur was the lack of screentime Bernthal got, but O’Connor utilizes his charm to full effect. Bernthal is a rare kind of tough-guy action man, a throwback to the very best Chuck Norris roles of the ’80s. A cocky charmer you would expect to beat a bear in a cage fight. As Braxton, he is tough as nails while also having a lot of fun in the role.  In his opening scene, Bernthal shows his comedic range as he tries and fails to buy a corgi. His style perfectly contrasts Affleck’s more reserved Wolff, and they develop a winning formula together. This gives the film a sense of heart as they bond and work through their strained relationship. There is a real desire between them to connect and grow closer for the first time, even if neither necessarily knows how. The scenes where Bernthal tries opening up to this brother are surprisingly moving, giving both characters a sense of vulnerability and growth. The chemistry between the two stretches into the film’s action sequences. During the film’s climatic shootout, the two brothers are perfectly in sync as they take down goon after goon, displaying geometric precision and timing that blends Wolff’s numerical and weaponry skills to craft a pulsating action set-piece.

However, the film ultimately lacks the action-based thrills that turn a solid action flick into a great one. While the plot gives Bernthal and Affleck far more to do in terms of fighting than Malek and Bernthal had in The Amateur, the film’s climatic shootout is its ultimately its only set-piece. O’Connor directs this scene well, constantly having our leads fight on the move so the scene never gets static while also focusing on close-quarter combat that infuses the scene with greater energy and tension reminiscent of how the recent Warfare shot its battle scenes.

The opening scene involving Ray King and the mysterious assassin Anaïs (Daniella Pineda) is also a standout, using its bar setting to once again focus on employing close-quarter combat that is breathless in its execution so that you feel every punch, setting the tone for what promises to be a tight-paced action thriller with enough action to satisfy the genre’s most ardent fans. However, between the opening scene and the climatic shootout, there is little to satisfy the action junky. While O’Connor always delivers on what he gives, the films middle act drags as we wait expectantly for an action scene that never comes. This does allow a greater focus on the brotherly bond between our two leads, but it also leaves far too much time for comic relief in what is supposed to be a thriller. While the speed dating scene is a comedic standout, it does follow directly on from the King’s death, and the shift is so abrupt you would be forgiven for thinking you’re watching two different movies.

Such abrupt shifts not only give the film a confused tone but leave the plot and villains underdeveloped. The central drive of this film is based around getting revenge for King and finding out who Anaïs is while searching for the family King was looking for when he was killed. Yet, these central plot elements are rarely fleshed out, with what is learned about it being told entirely through exposition that quickly becomes mundane in its storytelling, making us forget our protagonists are supposed to be getting revenge for King’s death. Anaïs becomes central to the film’s second and third acts, yet her character gets little screen time after the opening scene. This feels especially unsatisfying when the film’s big twist that reveals her identity at the end of the second act is tied to the missing family that is supposed to be driving the plot forward. For a character that is supposed to be an assassin, we see very little evidence of her skills, with the film telling us she is lethal without ever showing us what she is truly capable of. The film’s villains also fall victim to plot issues, getting little in the way of motivation or that make them stand out. Our main antagonist, Burke, played (Robert Morgan) is devoid of any defining characteristics beyond being evil, and his motivation for wanting to eliminate Anaïs and killing  King makes little sense. Such are the villains sidelined that Burke and Wolff never meet on screen, existing in two separate stories.

Despite these flaws, The Accountant 2 is an improvement on its predecessor. By focusing entirely on his two leads, O’Connor gives us an action-based buddy flick that allows them to carry much of the film with their charm and a bond that gives the film a greater sense of heart and emotion than the first. Its action is strong if sparse, and despite the abrupt tonal shifts, its comedic relief make this a fun time that’s best enjoyed without thinking too hard about the plot and enjoying the chemistry of two committed leads.