On April 24, cinemas began to release the crime action thriller «The Accountant 2», which, as you might guess, is a sequel to 2016’s «The Accountant». Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson and J.K. Simmons reprise their roles, as well as the director and screenwriter of the first film — Gavin O’Connor and Bill Dubuque, respectively. Find out how the film differs from its predecessor and whether it was good for — in the review below.
Pluses:
a good cast, including Ben Affleck and especially Jon Bernthal, who gave great performances and interacted well on screen; appropriate humor; top action;
Minuses:
The story is too formulaic and overlong; some people will definitely miss the action; Daniela Pineda's character is too unremarkable;
«The Accountant 2»
Genre crime thriller, action movie
Director Gavin O’Connor
Starring Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, J.K. Simmons, Allison Robertson, Robert Morgan, Grant Harvey, Andrew Howard
Premiere movie theaters
Year of release 2025
Website IMDb
Eight years have passed since the events of the first movie. The former director FinCEN Raymond King has retired and become a private detective. His search for a missing family of Mexican migrants led him to the mysterious mercenary Anais, but they turn out to be being followed by an influential criminal group. During their meeting in a diner, King is killed, but before he dies, he manages to leave a laconic but surprisingly clear message to his former subordinate Marybeth Medina — «Find the Accountant».
And she does. He tries to socialize without much success, but has not lost his outstanding mental and fighting skills. Joining forces, the heroes track down dangerous human traffickers, and Christian Woolf decides to ask his younger brother Braxton for help. Now they will not only have to fight many heavily armed villains, but also find out what role Anais plays in this case.
The first «Accountant» belongs to the category of films that were more popular with audiences than with critics (the corresponding ratings on the Rotten Tomatoes aggregator are added). The film offered a gloomy narrative tone, and sometimes resorted to outright drama, particularly in the backstory of the brothers abandoned by their mother and their clearly not happy childhood moments shown in flashbacks.
In the sequel, director Gavin O’Connor and screenwriter Bill Dubuque firmly decide that it is enough to focus on the manifestations of any suffering, and if they punish the bad guys within the framework of entertaining genre cinema, they should do so with a permissible ease and ease. And this approach seems not only appropriate, but even advantageous in relation to the first film.
Now the story hinges on the truly fascinating interaction between the two brothers, who find time to both pound villainous faces and to have brotherly chatter over beer and dancing in a country bar. And the filmmakers allow themselves to dilute the tension with unexpected comedic moments. Strangely enough, it works.
The character of John Bernthal, who, after the recent «The Amateur» and «Daredevil» we have mentioned for the third time in the last three weeks. His Braxton first gives a funny rehearsal in his underwear in front of a mirror, and then appears before the audience as the natural Statham from the opening scene seventh «Fast and Furious» — remember the post-facto special forces scattered around the hospital here and there? The same thing is happening now, minus the Fast and the Furious pathos and Statham’s bald head, plus the ironic dialog and Bernthal’s thick hair.
The unwavering Affleck, whose character’s peculiarity suggests a certain, somewhat «terminator» behavior, also allows himself more emotions compared to the original. Yes, he may still not be able to talk to women, but there are clearly more brotherly relationships, and the movie is better for it.
Of course, O’Connor and Dubuque noticeably abuse rusty genre tropes that can easily be called cheating. This is evident in the contrast between the Wolfs’ methods of fighting evil, which do not really follow the letter of the law, and the completely law-abiding agent Medina. In the fact that the main characters have to save unfortunate children — here you will be rooting for the boys with all your might. However, the bright chemistry between Affleck and Bernthal is enough to offset the story’s nondescript ness, and in the finale it is reinforced by top-notch action, which I would still like to see more of.
The story also has a lot of local nonsense and flaws. For example, Daniella Pineda’s character looked promising at the beginning (and purely visually reminded me of Marvel’s Black Widow), but as the story progressed, she was not involved in the events much, and therefore could not evoke anything more than indifference. Interrogations of important witnesses should be conducted in rooms with the largest possible windows, and it is advisable to position yourself so that it is as easy as possible for the sniper to take out his target.
The second «The Accountant» turned out to be a worthwhile entertaining movie, in some aspects even better than the serious and frowning first part. And if from a plot point of view it is not ready to surprise with any surprises or revelations, now we can definitely say that this story has not only brains and muscles, but also a soul.
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