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I love Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. I’ve seen it twice since it came out last week. It is just so great to see a filmmaker come out with something totally mainstream yet still be able to show genuine innovation and artistry. I have to say though, it is also good to see a movie that just ticks all the usual boxes for a good night out at the cinema. The Accountant 2 doesn’t do anything new or surprising, I won’t be seeing it again, and the strongest accolade I can give it is that it is highly competent. There is still something wonderfully satisfying though about a film with no message or deeper meaning, and that doesn’t have a single ambition or pretension beyond entertaining the audience for a couple of hours, but is just a lot of fun. Let’s be honest there are plenty of movies that miss even this mark so I am happy to celebrate anything that hits it so soundly. 

The Accountant 2 is clearly a sequel although the placement of the number on the posters indicates something being squared rather than continued. This is of course entirely deliberate and this follow up absolutely centres on the idea of ‘the power of two’. It also riffs on the protagonist’s mathematical capabilities and ostensible profession, although I’m not sure how often you need to multiply a number by itself in accountancy, but it actually refers to is the partnership between Ben Affleck’s title character and John Bernthal as his brother. 

The first film, which was released back in 2016, is considerably straighter than this one. The difference in tone is not as pronounced as it was between Gladiator and Gladiator II but they’ve still let go of some of their grasp on realism in the same way. In this case though this improves things. This movie’s predecessor effectively spent its running time bringing these two men together. I’m not sure if the reveal that the assassin that was heading for a clash with Affleck’s mob money man was actually the sibling seen with him in flashbacks was supposed to be a twist but it still felt satisfying when they connected and gave us some of the best moments in the movie. (Although Anna Kendrick also gave it value, she is missed from this one.) The idea here is to see what can be done with having these men properly team up and proves to be a joy. 

Affleck and Bernthal make a great pairing. Both have a characterisation that leans on the actors’ strengths and their dynamic is the highlight of the film. The mission they are on is also well worked out and compelling and they are surrounded by a solid cast of supporting players. The action is also hugely enjoyable, only one of these two might be a hitman but both are highly trained combatants and the fights and gunplay are well orchestrated. 

If you’ve seen the original film or the trailers for this one you will know that the angle with Affleck’s Christian Wolff is that he is autistic. The word itself is never used in this movie or that one, maybe because they are trying not to openly place him alongside people with this condition or they just don’t think compartmentalising labels are necessary, but this is who he is. I’m not an expert but I’ve known a number of people with t Toni’s type of neurodiversity and it seems to me that the way it is represented is managed fairly well, better here where he is shown laughing and enjoying himself more than previously. Make no mistake that this is still a movie version of ASD but it I think they have recognised their responsibility in depicting this and honoured it. For many viewers cinema will be a key source of information on autism, I remember when the condition was commonly described as being ‘like in Rain Man’, and it’s not damaging here even if it does come close to making it a gag on a couple of occasions. Affleck plays it sensitively and it’s a better action character than his Batman, which he originated in the same year. Around Affleck are other neurodiverse characters and they are actually portrayed by actors who have this in their own life, most notably but not exclusively Allison Robertson who plays Christian’s computer backup; or the ‘man in the chair’ to follow Spider-Man Homecoming parlance. The Accountant 2 absolutely presents neurodiversity as a superpower, with all the cliche this brings, but I don’t think I have a problem with that. 

So with its duties to entertainment and representation well met, I enthusiastically recommend The Accountant 2. I really enjoyed it and look forward to the inevitable Accountant Cubed (time to add a woman to the team). I only watched The Accountant a few weeks ago because this one looked good and I wanted to get on board. I am glad I did.