The
Accountant
Dir: Gavin O’Conner
Starring: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Cynthia
Addai-Robinson, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, and John Lithgow
The action film lately has seen its
fair share of tough guys. A transporter who can throw fists and kicks with the
best of them, another named Wick who thought he hid a deadly past under a slab
of concrete, and a tough guy who has “a particular set of skills” that are
useful when he needs them. Who would have thought that an accountant would
share the same qualities with every character mentioned above.
It makes sense that an accountant would
be a good action hero. Aside from the pocket protector and wingtips, an
accountant has to be meticulously organized, prepared for unexpected variables,
and capable of assessing large quantities of information at rapid speeds. Add
some hand-to-hand combat skills and weapons training and you’d have a fairly
deadly weapon ready for action.
The premise isn’t quite so simple in
director Gavin O’Conner’s film “The Accountant”. Ben Affleck plays a man named
Christian Wolff who has an impressive aptitude with numbers but not so much
with human connections. Christian is autistic; his military father took a
non-professional approach of treatment, exposing Christian to loud noises,
flashing lights, but also military combat training. Aside from being a
brilliant everyday accountant, Christian also organizes the books for some of the
most dangerous men, terrorists, and mobsters in the world. How does Christian
stay safe? His unique brain and training from his father has turned him into a
seemingly unstoppable assassin.
First, Ben Affleck is really good here.
The character of Christian is a man who struggles with people, understanding
different emotions and subtle personality traits is more difficult for him than
going through years of extensive, complicated accounts with millions of
numbers. Mr. Affleck holds together the loose ends that unfortunately
compose the narrative. Anna Kendrick offers some good chemistry with Mr.
Affleck but also some humor that the two utilize often. J.K. Simmons
plays a retiring treasury agent with nothing but charm, a man with secrets
and conflicts of his own but also an understanding of the world he
operates in. Mr. Simmons always brings an interesting quality, even to the
most unoriginal characters like this one.
Aside from Mr. Affleck’s detailed, deft
performance that provides the messy narrative with some interesting moments,
there are unfortunately movements in the script that make zero sense. Most
of the turns and reveals in this thriller are fairly easily discerned. Still,
there are some good scenes found throughout the clutter. Specifically
the relationships established by Christian, one with an analyst (Anna Kendrick)
of a company investigating the loss of millions that puts Christian in a
difficult position and another with a family member seen mostly in flashbacks.
It's these interesting character dynamics that keep the film engaging.
“The Accountant” is a no-nonsense,
sometimes dull, action thriller with a great performance from Ben Affleck.
Surprisingly it still has a very watchable and
pleasant quality, in the same way that mindless action films can
occupy space without any other requirement than executing a by-the-numbers
script with a good character. The cast delivers and that may be enough for some
to overlook the missteps within the story.
Monte’s
Rating
3.50 out
of 5.00
No comments:
Post a Comment