Sexiest TV

The Accountant 2 is the sequel to Gavin O’Connor’s fairly mid action movie that stars Ben Affleck as a Batman-type without the suit, an autistic superhero who has a network across the world working for various mafia organisations as their accountant. The film opens up with JK Simmons’ ex private eye Raymond King, a former FInCEN member, is murdered at a bar leaving behind a cryptic message for Marybeth Medina, played by Cynthia Addai Robinson. Marybeth and Affleck’s The Accountant must work together with Jon Bernthal’s loose cannon of a hitman, Braxton – who’s pulled back into the Accountant’s world when the stakes get higher and missing children are involved.

I find the representation of autism in The Accountant 2 to be very well-meaning but also incredibly skewered. It’s autism as a superpower taken literally and feels very much like a 90s movie portrayal of autism – warts and all, like we haven’t really evolved since then which is a real shame given the lack of good autistic representation in major Hollywood movies, especially at a time when RFK is creating a watchlist for those with autistic people in the United States and the United Kingdom are testing all children who believe they are transgender for autism and ADHD. It’s dire out there – so to get a film like The Accountant could’ve explored autism in a more modern light. There are little difficulties, like the inability to get small talk and conversation, but it doesn’t quite land and feels very, very generic.

There’s no quirks or differences that get autism is a spectrum and just show the most basic tropes for Affleck’s character. I do like that the movie actually says he is autistic – when most Hollywood movies shy away from labelling their character as such, but that’s about it – the protagonist has essentially, the most autism. Everything vaguely associated with autism he has. Autism is a superpower for The Accountant; he can do things that normal people can’t and is almost too impressive. He is essentially, Batman without a cape. And this is a dangerous precedent by forcing unrealistic expectations on autistic people that The Accountant 2 continues with. Affleck brings nuance to the role and does have some moments of authenticity, but it feels like a non-autistic’s idea of what autism is. Much like The Good Doctor.

As for the film itself, it’s very cookie cutter. It locks in two movie stars and finally remembers to give Jon Bernthal more than five minutes in a movie; and his yappy, annoying macho hitman is lively and really gives the film some life. Affleck is equally brooding and socially awkward opposite him – and Simmons is good in his brief scenes. Robinson plays the standard law enforcement agent caught in over their head and there are some funny scenes in there – that feel very much like dad humour – because like I said, 90s movie.

The opening bar scene with the use of music playing throughout the entirety of its music is terrific. The final shootout in the desert is a western brought to modern life at high noon – guns blazing where you feel like both Affleck and Bernthal are real movie stars – something that The Amateur didn’t get. The bar scene hangout where Affleck dances and the cutaway of Braxton jumping in on the action is a moment of character-bonding that makes both characters’ relationships more important. However it never fully takes off – partly due to how stuck in the past it really is. Positive steps forward in giving Affleck’s Wolff some agency are welcome but very much not the one.

var authorcode=’MJ’;