The Accountant 2 – Movie Reviews by Ry!

The Accountant 2 – The Heart of Brothers and Blood: I Kill for You

In a world of endearing connections, the closest ones can seem too far.  If those distances come to be, it brings about real emotions that power the heights of joy or pain.  To feel those levels creates a raw grip on one’s personal character, something that is prudent to storytelling, especially in film.  No matter if it’s an action or romance tale, what can make or break the experience is those connections.  In this review, I look at the latest action film to hit the big screen.  In a long-awaited sequel, it is a story of convoluted thrills and hardened connections.  Even as the plot is somewhat contrived, The Accountant 2 is a riveting tale that defines the meaning of brotherhood.

When a high-class murder brings a skilled assassin out of the shadows, he will have to work with his brother to solve the crime and rekindle a lost familial connection.  From style to adrenaline, action films provide a grip that can pull at your emotions through obvious means.  With a genre of repeated plot elements and copycat archetypes, there are always a few IPs that stand out from the rest.  With this sequel, it is a mixture of familiar action tropes, but done in a way that propels the brotherhood connection in a different way.  In the beginning, we come into this film through a suspenseful action sequence that leaves multiple people dead, including a Director of the Treasury Department, Raymond King (J.K. Simmons).  This incident leads to his partner, Marybeth (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to begin an investigation, which leads her to contact Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) aka The Accountant for help to solve who was behind his murder (main plot).  Once this foundation is set, we head into a second act that becomes a mixed bag of action and investigation sequences, following Wolff and Marybeth as they try to piece the mystery behind King’s death.  As each new (plot point) piece of the puzzle comes about, the web of conspiracies, contract killers and drug/human trafficking leads Wolff to reach out to his brother, Braxton (Jon Bernthal), for additional help.  It is at this point when the clichés begin to level within the characterization of the bond between these two brothers.  The character focused elements elevate the tonal aspect of the action and thrills, providing a layer to the criminal investigation while building out the relationship of our main characters.  What you have is a tale of two brothers, one that provides an evolution to the ‘action star’ archetype while propelling a unique experience within the journey.

As the brothers work through there own personal conundrums, it provides added human value to the otherwise typical (and partly convoluted) plot.  As the web builds through convenience and obvious clichés, it never takes away from the experience because of the chemistry of our two male leads, a testament to the acting strength of Affleck and Bernthal.  As things start to reach a tipping point, and more lives are at stake, we head into a third act of high-octane action, elevated body counts, and adrenaline filled moments.  With the brothers faced with your typical ‘race against time’ sequence, we head into the ultimate confrontation climax and a full circle epilogue.  The Accountant 2 elevates the experience of your typical action film.  If you are a fan of those involved, action or character style films, this is one for you.  This is definitely a worthy sequel to see on the big screen.

Full Score – 3.5 out of 5 (Matinee)