Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck; Justice League) is a highly trained accountant who has autism. When he was young, his mother left because she couldn't handle Christian. His military-trained father refused to place Christian in a home and instead taught him and his younger brother, Braxton (Jon Bernthal; Daredevil: Born Again), how to fight. When we met the brothers eight years ago, they were on opposite sides. Luckily, they reconciled and are now as cordial as Christian's condition will allow them to be. However, when Christian needs help solving a crime, he calls on Braxton. Together, along with some friends, they unravel the mystery of Ray King's (J.K. Simmons; Spider-Man) murder.
Deputy Director of FINCEN, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson; The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) receives a call and finds herself on the way to Los Angeles to identify the body of the King. Strangely, King left Medina a message on his arm..."Find the Accountant". Trying to figure out what King was working on, Medina goes to the cottage he was renting and discovers a box full of photos, receipts, and documents, but can't make heads or tails of them. She then calls Harbor Neuroscience treatment center and "leaves a message" for Christian, who finds Medina and agrees to help her find who is behind King's death.
Affleck once again reprises his role as the brilliant but socially awkward title character. He does an excellent job of portraying someone with a condition that makes him unable to connect with people and has him very regimented in his routine. Bernthal does a good job trying, and the two actors have a nice rapport that reads as the familiarity of family. Addai-Robinson also returns as the rule follower, having difficulty with Christian and Braxton's unorthodox methods. New to the cast this time is Daniella Pineda (Jurassic World: Dominion) as one of the antagonists, who is as mysterious as Christian's condition.
Director Gavin O'Connor (The Way Back) has a knack for understanding the art of building tension but balancing it with humor and action. Most action films spend a grossly overabundance of time shooting guns, throwing punches, and chasing vehicles all over the city instead of getting to the point and moving on. Thankfully, O'Connor offers enough action to appease the junkies but also focuses on the story and character development so as to not alienate the rest of the audience. He also infuses the movie with well-placed humor, partly thanks to screenwriter Bill Dubuque's (Ozark) smart script.
Sadly, there are a few plot holes that are glaringly evident and can't really be ignored. The first, and possibly the worst, is that Pineda's character sees the same picture twice in the film, once at the beginning and once at the end, and while she has no reaction to the first viewing, the second time she sees the photo, she suddenly has memories that come flooding back. The second is the miraculous recovery Medina seems to have after suffering a broken jaw. The final one, or at least that I noticed, is the fact that one of the villains has no problem holding kids hostage to force their mothers to work as prostitutes, but doesn't take the opportunity to turn the older, female kids into prostitutes as well. Someone like that wouldn't hesitate to put those girls to work, as he has no morals to begin with.
While not as good as its predecessor, The Accountant 2 has some redeemable qualities and is entertaining overall. It runs a little long, if you ask me, and some of the details seem convoluted, but it certainly isn't the worst movie I have seen all year, and there is one sequence at Harbor Neuroscience that is fascinating to watch.
Grade: B-
