*Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures, Amazon MGM Studios.*

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

Synopsis: Christian Wolff applies his brilliant mind and illegal methods to reconstruct the unsolved puzzle of a Treasury chief's murder.

After 8 years of waiting, we finally have the sequel to one of the most underrated action/thrillers of the 2010s: ‘The Accountant.’

We’re live at SXSW 2025 where the world premiere of ‘The Accountant 2’ has just concluded. And what’s our consensus?

The film kicks into gear straight away with an exciting opening, following new character Anaïs (played by Daniella Pineda), as she meets with Raymond King, in which J. K. Simmons returns to the role. It’s here where brief but clean exposition is dumped, and a purposeful rise to action. This all leads to the question (no spoilers here, this was shown in the trailer): who killed Raymond King?

This is when Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck reprising) comes into play, as King’s final message to Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson returns to the role) was penned on his arm: “find the accountant.” Wolff and Medina eventually pair up, needing another set of capable but unpredicatable hands; Brax, played by Jon Bernthal, who also returns to the role after eight years.

But before we dive into the brothers’ relationship, it’s Christian Wolff who seems to be more “out-there” than the previous instalment. He’s out in the world trying to find a partner… dating. Sounds odd for our accountant right? Well, this is when the tone flipping sets in. Within a few minutes, we’ve gone from brutal action with high stakes to Wolff’s romantic-comedy dating life. Don’t get me wrong, the comedy aspects work well, but the film doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. There’s also moments of slapstick action (i.e. a few morons getting into Wolff’s face at a bar then being thrown out the window in the next cut). This also includes a shocking freeze frame of Jon Bernthal. Again, it’s entertaining, but still not doing the film any favors. Comedy? Action/comedy? Thriller/Comedy? You choose.

Unlike the first film, and a lack of Anna Kendrick, there are tons of quips and one-liners, with Bernthal delivering the most and making it feel like a natural trait for his character: obnoxious but caring underneath a hardened exterior.

The strengths and core of the film is the relationship and chemistry between Affleck and Bernthal. They seem to bounce of each other with ease and you really buy in to the fact that they have not seen each other in eight years (although in the first film, Wolff did tell Brax he’d visit).

Affleck once again shows why he’s one of the more underrated actors in Hollywood. Sure, he’s A-list talent, but his performance in ‘The Accountant’ slipped right under the radar of many critics and cinephiles. This time around, Affleck brings in more layers to Wolff with personal conflicts outside of the central mystery. We get to see Wolff open up to the world a little more and take courageous risks in hopes of forming a bond with someone other than his brother. There’s a line dancing scene, and it could’ve been tacky. However, Affleck conveys such vulnerability and sincerity that it’s hard not to look at the scene in its entirety and deny its justification within the film.

Another huge but under utilized standout was Daniella Pineda as Anaïs. She’s captivating from her first scene to her last. Pineda creates a looming presence for her tormented character, and you feel it in the scenes in which she is absent. This also leaves an urge for more of Pineda’s character in future instalments or spin-offs.

But lets talk technicalities. Does the cinematography work? Sure. Sound? It does the job. No standouts in this realm — especially not the editing, which of course contributes to the jarring tonal shifts from one scene to the next. Wait, this is a brother-comedy movie? Nope. Now it’s a serious child trafficking thriller. Some scenes also contain songs or music to help juxtapose for comedic purposes or heighten the tension, but ultimately all merit is lost with odd selections which dull down any real tension in the air. The opening scene is a fine example of this: a gritty set-up muddled by an upbeat tune.

While the editing works against the story, the film does zip by with help of strong central performances. You walk away with a certain amount of satisfaction with the characters, elevated by thrilling and creative action sequences. Characters a key here, as this element of the film needed to work or else the entire production would’ve fallen flat. But is it as good as the first its predecessor? No. Vastly entertaining? Absolutely, and worth giving it a shot in theatres.

‘The Accountant 2’ release April 25, 2025.

Our score: ★★★
(out of 5 stars)

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