Movie Review: The Accountant 2

After spending the day outside doing yardwork so that HBIC Headquarters isn't condemned by city inspectors as a vacant building, I spent my evening needing a break from everything. Normally, this involves me escaping into a movie, and tonight's choice was one I had been wanting to see since it was released. Since I rarely have time to do yardwork, getting to the theatre was something that simply wasn't in the cards so I waited until I could find it on a streaming service. I really enjoyed the original movie that starred Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff, aka "the accountant", so I was puzzled when I read reviews that didn't find this movie entertaining. Were they right? Was The Accountant 2 another sequel "dud" that should be avoided? Let's find out!

In a year awash with sequels such as Another Simple Favor and Jurassic Park: Rebirth, getting something a little different in a sequel should set it apart. The Accountant 2's focus on Wolff's autistic mathematical savant character trying to find some sort of brotherly harmony with his overconfident, overly-lethal brother, Braxton, played by Jon Bernthal. It was obvious in the original movie that these two don't have the best relationship, so how would they interact? How would they reunite? Are they able to work together?

It was clear that The Accountant 2 attempts to work more humourous situations into the script by exploiting some of Christian's neurodivergence and idiosyncracies. Braxton elevates that more by calling out Christian's social shortcomings and forcing him to acknowledge them in key situations, but the backstory behind the female voice on the phone who works with Christian is explained entirely in The Accountant 2. I won't reveal that backstory as it closes off a few questions left unanswered from The Accountant, but it becomes very clear that Christian has never been working alone.

The story of The Accountant 2 starts with the death of Ray King, JK Simmons' treasury agent character, in an assassination attempt surrounding his mysterious contact, Anaïs, played by Daniella Pineda. Simmons, in an attempt to keep his investigation going, scrawls "find the accountant" on his forearm that director of FinCEN Marybeth Medina, played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson, sees and immediately understands. She eventually tracks down Wolff, and he begins his method of investigating King's loose ends on his seemingly cold investigation. Wolff realizes he needs some additional help, and he reaches out to Braxton. Medina, uncomfortable with a lot of the illegal methods being used by Christian and his team, opts to investigate on her own. This is where the plot thickens.

Without revealing a lot details, the investigation points back to the unknown identity of Anaïs and her involvement in a number of incidents across the globe. When Medina discovers some important information, Anaïs attempts to eliminate her and is only stopped when Anaïs comes across some of the evidence that Christian had found. This shifts the plot into overdrive as Christian and Braxton piece together who Anaïs is and what needs to be done to right the wrong that has haunted her. Can they solve this mystery?

Admittedly, I didn't reveal a lot of the plot because the few major plot points that push the story need to be seen, not told. That being said, I'll fully admit that there's chemistry on-screen between Affleck and Bernthal in their two characters as they work well together. There are moments of humour between the two that will make you laugh, but seeing those moments gave me a deeper appreciation of what it may be like for each of them to accept the other.

Bernthal's Braxton really tries to push Christian out of his safe zone by having him experience more social situations and by simply expressing his feelings while Christian's attempts to be warmer towards Braxton seem to bridge the gap between the two brothers. I can't speak to the portrayal of the non-verbal, autistic savant, Justine, played by Allison Robertson as I have mo experience with that kind of neurodivergence, but the character arc does follow the arc shown in the original film. Pineda's portrayal of Anaïs comes across as cold and emotionless until a certain point in the film, and she fits the assassin characterization almost perfectly.

Let's be honest in saying that no one is expecting The Accountant 2 to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, but writer Bill Dubuque and director Gavin O'Connor stayed true to the material as established in The Accountant. Toss in some added action scenes with more Braxton, some humorous moments thanks to the brothers, and a story that keeps the pace moving, and The Accountant 2 is a fun action movie with heart that fills an hour and a half nicely.

With a third movie in the trilogy due out in the future, fans of Christian Wolff would be wise to watch The Accountant 2. It won't wow you with any sort of profound movie magic, but the work turned in by Affleck and Bernthal are worth the 132-minute story.

Teebz's Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 stars)

The Accountant 2 is streaming exclusively on Prime Video. The movie was produced by Ben Affleck, Lynette Howell Taylor, and Mark Williams for Amazon MGM Studios, and was released on April 25, 2025 in theatres and on June 5, 2025 on the streaming platform.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!