SXSW has a great history of bringing some of each year’s funniest comedies to the world — some of my favorite movie-going experiences — like The Disaster Artist and Blockers, and now The Accountant 2.
That’s absolutely not a typo. It’s a comedy. There would be no category fraud if Ben Affleck was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy at the Golden Globes this year.
A sequel to an action-thriller about an autistic accountant/trained killer from a decade ago that now has a sequel and is in the running to be one of 2025’s funniest films. And it’s not just “Look at this autistic character’s awkwardness in social interactions.”
There certainly are moments that explore how difficult it is for Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff to be a social member of society as an autistic savant. Director Gavin O’Connor and writer Bill Dubuque throw the book at the audience in the most surprising ways, to make this one of the most thrilling surprises of recent memory.
The first movie from 2016 certainly had its moments of levity amid its serious tone, and fairly successfully. This time around, they employ punchlines with the camera, cuts in editing, choreography (including a showstopping dance scene), pratfalls, and freeze frames amid a wild screenplay that allows Affleck along with his on-screen brother Jon Bernthal to chew the scenery in their own ways.
This is arguably the best Affleck has ever been, tapping into Christian even deeper than his first go-around. Along with Dubuque’s characterization in the script, Affleck feels like he’s pushing up against the wall of how much Christian can reasonably emote. It feels like the character has done a lot of growing up and understanding the world through his eyes in a new way, but without disrespecting his constraints beyond belief.
Early on, we see Christian attempt to enter the dating world, and the tone is immediately set. This movie is not the same as Round One and Christian is looking for something more in life. And that is explored more with Bernthal stepping into the picture as an even larger presence than in the first film, sharing considerable time on-screen compared to just the final act.
By the end, both have grown in proper fashion, with Christian understanding his brother Braxton’s emotional needs, hoping to help even if Christian himself doesn’t feel the same. It’s really an endearing cap to a movie that is all about thrills and laughs along the way.
It actually makes me want to see The Accountant 3 happen before another decade-long wait. At the very least, Affleck needs to bring Bernthal along in some project in the future because the bromance is too strong. They have an electric chemistry.
Knowing the plot or the catalyst for what happens is hardly anything to worry about here. It’s a movie that rolls along like a runaway bus completely on vibes and strong performances, making way for a potential franchise that seemed impossible in 2016.
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