An interesting deviation on a by-the numbers adult-thriller is amusing but doesn’t wholly add-up.

Reviewed by Arclas

What do you get when you combine; Hitman, the new Batman movies, and the original Bourne series? Answer = The Accountant.

In portraying Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) as a high functioning autistic the movie allows him to be viewed as a mathematical genius. Growing up in a military household, he along with his brother are trained to handle everything that life could throw at them by his militaristic father in fields of immersion therapy and combat. This was under the mantra that, if Christian is going to live a ‘normal’ life, he should be subjected to the real world and treated no different than anyone else.
As far as a normal life goes, he doesn’t have one by any means, as he works as “the accountant” for the mobs and other dangerous organizations. And due to his shady activities, the treasury department is after him, a charge led by J.K Simmons and Cynthia Addai-Robinson. To lay low, Christian takes on a “licensed and legal” client but soon realizes that this is far from the truth.

Overall, it’s not a bad movie but that’s because I loved the formula of this genre so much that this movie basically rips off. A highly trained and motivated superhero Jason Bourne-like type [or y’know modern Batman], complete with a British handler [see: Hitman franchise] who work while evading the authorities (J.K Simmons in future Commissioner Gordon mode), and you have a basic girl kidnapped to keep her safe plot-device.

The characters are well played, the scenes well shot and director Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) makes effective use of much needed comic-relief. Along with some interesting fight scenes and dialogue, The Accountant is a good film-going experience. The whole movie however, is based off a major plot hole that grows bigger as the movie goes on and was not original in its execution. From plot twists that were apparent within the first quarter to revelations near the end, the movie disappointingly got worse and worse as it went on. The whole aspect of dealing with crime lords and cartels is under-cooked to the point where its omission wouldn’t have changed much. The treasury department investigation itself was enough to keep the movie on course and then again, even if THEY weren’t on his tail, it didn’t add a whole lot bunch in the way either. J.K Simmons may want his superhero (pictures of Spider-Man to hang with Batman), the Accountant is not who he is after? It’s all a bit complicated, and more fun to imagine Wolff like his casted character counterpart, a more anti-social Bruce Wayne with a greater affinity for numbers.

I would watch this movie again, but more for background noise or in a “kill for answers and justice” vigilante kind of movie mood. I would rate this as a 5 or generous 6/10. Good movie, but there’s more to be desired in holes that The Accountant himself would discover and fill.