The Accountant 2 - Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

BEN Affleck reprises his role as autistic accountant and assassin Christian Wolff in this belated - but hugely enjoyable - sequel to his sleeper hit thriller from 2016.

Written and directed once again by Gavin O’Connor (of Warrior fame), the sequel picks up eight years after the events of the first film and finds Wolff enlisting the help of his estranged brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal, also reprising his role) to investigate the death of former ally and treasury department head Raymond King (JK Simmons).

With the help of King’s protege Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), the brothers expose a Central American human trafficking group with links to an organized crime network based out of a fish shop, while simultaneously seeking to locate a missing autistic youth in Juarez, and an elusive assassin known as Anaïs (Daniella Pineda) with links to just about everyone.

As complex as all this may sound, O’Connor keeps audiences invested by playing things a little more tongue in cheek than he did first time around, while also ramping up the chemistry between the two brothers. And it’s here that the sequel finds its biggest success, arguably covering over some of the plot holes and absurdities.

Affleck’s autism isn’t overplayed and will resonate with many neurodivergent viewers - not least in his literal interpretations of certain scenarios or his attempts to mask in order to fit in to society (whether speed dating or country dancing). Likewise, his often strained interaction with Braxton feels authentic - the frustrations that exist between them evocative of the challenges (and differences) that are commonplace between neurotypical and neurodivergent lives.

Bernthal, for his part, plays his side of things really well, leaning into his own frustrations and confusion about his brother’s condition, while accepting the progress that is made in a couple of quietly affecting bonding sequences. Their journey is actually very emotional - especially for those with an appreciation of the communication challenges that accompany autism.

Admittedly, for those that aren’t aware, some of the comedy employed around certain responses from Affleck's Christian may appear too flippant or could be seen to reduce him to merely the butt of the joke. But this, for me, is a shortcoming that stems more from an overall ignorance of neurodivergence than anything too glib in the script (especially since, from reading interviews with Affleck around the release of the film, the issue of autism is close to his heart).

Perhaps more troubling remains O’Connor’s decision to use autism as a superpower of sorts... a failing of many films in the way they choose to depict autism. Here, there’s even an X-Men style mansion of teenage autistic savants, who covertly work with Christian by using their ‘special abilities’ to provide technical support in finding and reaching the people that the brothers can’t - although, again, it isn’t far removed from the truth given that the MoD is actively recruiting dyslexic employees to their ranks for the way in which they can think outside of the box and find patterns quicker than their neurotypical peers.

Hence, there is a lot to admire in the film's depiction of autism and the awareness it could promote.

On an action level, the film also delivers with several set pieces that combine grit with excitement. Several early dust-ups are well orchestrated and serve to further underline the difference in the brothers' psychological approach to using violence, while a large gunfight late on has you invested as the stakes are raised significantly against the brothers walking out unscathed. There's also a ruthlessness to them which is befitting to the world in which they inhabit.

And while the morality of having two killers may be questionable to those with more sensitive dispositions, the world in which they exist invites that complexity and offers room for growth and learning in both of the brothers' overall arcs (Braxton, in particular, seems to grow in compassion the longer the film lasts).

Sure, there's a crowd-pleasing, amusing element underpinning much of this - but the performances ensure that the film hits the required notes emotionally, without feeling too knowing, too disrespectful, or too contrived.

It's a crowd-pleaser that hits most - if not all - of its targets.

Certificate: 15

Running time: 2hrs 5mins