Ben Affleck was in two action movies in 2016: Batman v Superman and The Accountant. Interestingly they were both released by Warner Brothers and they both feature Affleck as a rich violent loner. That however is where the comparisons between the two movies stop. Instead of wearing a cape and a cowl in The Accountant, Affleck is an autistic math wiz who does taxes for very bad people, and he is also really good at killing people.
There is a lot going on in The Accountant. In one story line we find out how Affleck’s character gets the way he is, it turns out his military dad wasn’t great at dealing with an autistic kid. In another the Treasury Department is tracking Affleck down for his many crimes, and then in the main story Affleck is trying to find where a large corporation’s money has gone. Only to find himself and fellow accountant Anna Kendrick targeted by the people with sticky fingers. Turns out he is the wrong person to try and kill.
For the most part I enjoyed The Accountant. It is an interesting story, and Affleck plays a different kind of character from what we are used to. Though the trope of kids with special needs being good at killing is troublesome. I will say at least The Accountant tries to treat autism respectfully, and not just as some sort of magic that makes his brain better at math and murder. Even if that is the end result.
While the script has a few shortfalls, the cast mostly makes up for it. It turns out that if you hire a ton of talented people and give them interesting things to do, they make a movie better. The only person who seemed like he was coasting was J.K. Simmons, but to be fair to him, how many times has he played the chief or director of something, so he pretty much played muted J.K. Simmons. Which again to be fair, is still pretty good.
There you have it. The Accountant is a decent action movie based around a slightly worrisome cliché. There are far worse movies to watch on a Friday afternoon, and it shows that Affleck is more than the sad Batman the internet has come to know and hate. Now just make sure that your finances are in order because you wouldn’t want a visit from this accountant!