The Accountant 2 Review - Brutal, bloody, brotherly love

“Because brothers don’t let each other wander in the dark alone.” - Jolene Perry

For some reason movies that deserve sequels either rarely get them or it takes close to a decade to get made. Sonic the Hedgehog got an entire trilogy in four years. There’s four Despicable Me movies. Hell, the damn Minions got a sequel. There’s a Pitch Perfect franchise. I’m just making myself angry at this point but I’m going to continue just for a moment and I’ll move on. Dredd demanded a sequel; nothing. A sequel for District 9 has been in demand since 2009 and still nothing. Edge of Tomorrow 2? What the hell, Tom?! And I’ll end my little rant with this – I maintain one of the biggest missed franchise opportunities was a True Lies trilogy. They hit it and quit it and left us wanting more without ever satisfying that desire. They’ve edged us for over twenty years and now? Everyone involved is either dead or too old. But please James, keep making more goddamn Avatar movies at $300+ million a piece. I’m definitely bitter.

Despite the unfair fact that some movies get a sequel greenlit opening weekend and others languish for almost ten years, if the sequel happens, I guess I should still be grateful, if only a little perturbed. I’ve wanted to continue the adventures of the accountant since the original premiered. Nearly ten years later and we’re finally at the doorstep of its sequel. The continued legend of Christian Wolff endured nearly ten years of studio inaction but that’s not of importance anymore. We’re here and seeds of a third are already taking root as we speak. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, part 2.

Last we saw Christian, the future of Living Robotics is questionable as its upper management are largely left with lead poisoning in the cranium region. Christian reconnects with his brother, now a fixer/assassin for hire, and simply drives off to re-establish himself somewhere new, his mystery voice in tow. It’s a satisfying ending to that chapter, but it never felt like an ending to the overall story. The legend of the accountant was created but his story was far from over. We needed to see Christian and Braxton become brothers again. We needed to see how their relationship would interact with their chosen professions. Could they leave the past where it is or would it continue to haunt them? The death of their father, their mother’s abandonment; it all still stained their past left wholly unresolved so many years of estrangement later.

In The Accountant 2, we find Christian professionally sound but personally desiring a love life. His last interaction with Braxton was eight years ago and they haven’t seen each other since. As Christian operates in the shadows, his FinCEN connection, Ray King, has since retired only taking on cases that matter to him. Well his latest case begins to threaten his life demanding he reach out to Christian for his help. Unable to escape his fate, newly appointed Director Marybeth Medina steps in and tracks down the mysterious accountant.

Together, Medina and Christian must solve the mystery of a family torn apart that ultimately got Ray King murdered. In need of help, Christian calls up his long lost brother, Braxton, to assist in solving the puzzle of who killed Ray King and why. This leads to greater truths being unearthed culminating in dangerous killers, angered by their investigation, feeling cornered and ready to retaliate. Little do these heinous men realize, their newly acquired targets are far more lethal than they could have ever imagined.

Make no mistake, The Accountant 2 has some stellar action sequences and the dramatic story of murder and tattered families is prevalent and weighs on these characters immensely. But in a now welcome surprise, this is a far funnier chapter than part one. The relationship between Braxton and Christian is complicated, not without its genuine drama, but it’s also layered with silly, typical brotherly interactions you might expect from two ten year old boys. Only in this case, the two ten year olds are in their forties and have mercilessly killed numerous people. And the juxtaposition between trained killer and immature brothers is absolutely hysterical. They are endlessly diabolical together, wantingly getting into trouble just for the laughs. They are a nuisance to the general public and watching their adult relationship blossom is nothing short of comedic brilliance even when its more poignant elements intertwine seamlessly combining silliness with true growth and connection between long lost brothers with a hopelessly complex history.

Bernthal and Affleck are fantastic together. Their newfound relationship is endlessly watchable making the action scenes all the more harrowing as you practically demand they survive another day. The thought of them recently finding one another again only to lose that in a ruthless firefight becomes unthinkable. It heightens some already fantastic sequences to an entirely new level further deepening the legend of the accountant. He is a force all by himself, but with his brother now at his side, villains beware.

The Accountant 2 is the funnier film I didn’t know I wanted but I’m so glad I got it. What works best about the comedy is that it never feels forced, but more so it’s an organic development between brothers who may not have seen one another in a long time, still have the ability to simply pick up where they left off, a sign of true brotherhood. Their dynamic is complex with a dark history, complicated by a dangerous present, and their future is constantly under threat of untimely death by some of the most abominable people on the planet. But they finally found each other and after disposing of this round of bad guys, they drive off once again, only this time, they’re together leaving us as the audience, fulfilled. Fulfilled, yes, but not without my curiosities about what’s next for this brotherly duo. Let’s not wait another decade to find out, huh. Whaddya say?