Mr Wolff 2

... otherwise the autistic savant just might maim, shoot, or cyberhack you into painful oblivion. The "Accountant 2" (A2) is a fairly predictable, average action sequel. Affleck's and Bernthal's portrayals as brothers provide some expanded interaction (and sometimes humorous banter) of their sibling relationship. The whole "autism is a gift" angle of A2 really BREAKS believability-as Affleck's former rural academy of autistic savants are more like Professor Xiaver's mutant X-men, than a more realistic school for young gifted people on the spectrum. It helps that Affleck's Autism Academy has more surveillance, encrypted communications, and cyber spy/warfare capabilities than any current superpower-to jump over gaping plot holes and pesky contrivances to keep the "BANG BANG" going. If you liked the original "Accountant" arrange your breakfast with obsessive compulsion, or like to file tax returns, there is exactly a 50/50 probability you might like A2. Viewed on Prime streaming.

Tonally extremely different to the original movie as they aim to increase the comedic moments. Very weak plot which seemed to rely on paper thin character links.

Terrible oversights with character continuity for the actual accountant. He sounded and looked different - his wardrobe was actually that of Forrest Gump and they even mentioned that as a reference at one point. He doesn't seem to be working in the same way now, and just messing about with dating algorithms for laughs now?! Even if you buy into him making 9 years of effort to integrate, it just seemed too different and ultimately fans of the first movie are coming back for more of the same so development must be within some bounds, otherwise he is just a different character.

I was really upset that they turned his "Solomon Grundy" stim/soothe into a joke and then had him use it in absolutely the wrong moment - more like a punch/tag line. His father's routine over overstimulation that dominated the original to help him cope with the world was completely absent - nothing really seemed to trigger him this time at all.

Would go so far as to say that Jon Bernthal was absolutely wasted and his character was made to look like an idiot rather than a dangerous and whimsical guy.

Agent Medina was a bit of an afterthought who got in the way. Little character development and it seemed like she was just there to remind us all how "off book" the accountant and his brother are.

Honestly this was a terrible follow up to the first movie and we came home and immediately put on the original to try and wash away the mess that was this sequel. It was such an opportunity to really do something cool with the concept, and it was absolutely wasted.

I really like The Accountant. It dared to change the action movie lead role with an autistic character, providing a very interesting role. How would the combination of strengths and weaknesses that The Accountant's condition play out in the dangerous world of international criminals and hitmen?

It was this combination of obsessive/compulsive need for order and completion, combined with an inability to empathise or understand social interactions, that made Affleck's character, Christian Wolff, so interesting.

In the sequel, the writing is not as focused on Affleck in the same way. Instead the focus is on the relationship between him and his brother (Bernthal). While well acted, this simply does not have the same appeal. The movie shines when Wolff's neurodivergence is front and centre, but otherwise it feels like any other generic action-thriller (albeit a well-done one).

The Accountant 2 doubles down on the action and humor over the first film. It does however try to juggle too many subplots that are poorly connected, leading to a less coherent film and a lack of a singular, hateable villain.

On the plus side, making Jon Bernthal a co-lead this time was incredibly smart. He and Affleck have great chemistry and Bernthal's Braxton is both a lethal threat and downright hilarious. This is easily his best role since The Punisher.

Like the first film, action isn't the primary focus, with a lot of time spent on enjoyable character moments. But when the action does arrive, it really delivers. Depending on what the new Mission: Impossible has in store for us, the Juarez shootout in this film may go down as the best action sequence of the year.

Again, I wish more of the character development had been focused on the villains, so we'd have a central antagonist who seems like a real threat. Instead we get several boring micro-villains.

I also wish the writing and editing were working in better harmony to bring us a more coherent story.

But all that said, Affleck and Bernthal have charm to spare, the final act is awesome, and this is a decent follow up to the admittedly better first film. 7/10.

Ben Affleck's portrayal of Christian Wolff in The Accountant 2 feels noticeably different this time around. His character's autism traits seem more exaggerated, which comes off as a disservice to the subtle brilliance of the original performance. The addition of more overt comic relief also feels jarring and out of place-it shifts the tone from the gritty, tightly wound thriller of the first film into something less focused. That said, there are a handful of scenes that are exceptionally well shot, with crisp choreography and dark, gritty visuals. Ultimately, the film struggles to balance its identity, wavering between serious character study and action-comedy hybrid. It's watchable, but not nearly as satisfying as the first.