I'm surprised by the 48% on RT. I really enjoyed this.

The Accountant is a preposterous, yet intriguing and diverting blend of autism and espionage. Protagonist Christian Wolff, played by Ben Affleck in Batman shape, is the archetypal autistic film character: an enigmatic and withdrawn savant who fails to interpret social cues even as his mind performs mathematical equations with the rapidity of a computer. But he is also on the superhero spectrum, a tormented gunman-ninja with a strict moral code and at least two complicated father figures. The two clichés are energized by the improbable collision and Affleck's restrained, sensitive performance, one of his best; it is not hard to imagine this character's further adventures sustaining a sequel should this prove a sleeper hit. For his part, ever-solid journeyman director Gavin O'Connor (Miracle, Warrior) stages several suspenseful chase and fight sequences and navigates hairpin tonal shifts fairly well, though he is at times outmaneuvered by inelegant writing. As novel as the script by Bill Dubuque (The Judge) is on a conceptual level, it tends to lose its footing amid explanations and transitions: consider an interminable and numbing second-act sequence in which poor J. K. Simmons, as a taciturn U.S. Treasury agent, has to deliver pages upon pages of convoluted, table-laying exposition. It is a convoluted and laborious way to unveil key character and story information. And the actual plot—involving financial malfeasance at a Chicago robotics company on the verge of going public—is nowhere near as compelling as the left-field main character and the movie star playing him.

B

The Accountant has an intriguing premise and solid performances (especially from lead Ben Affleck, who does a surprisingly good job with his autistic hit man accountant superhero whatever the hell he is character), but it's ultimately hampered by too much exposition and goofy plotting. It's not a bad movie by any means, just an unremarkable one that takes too long to get going. C+

The Accountant is a bad movie. Which is unfortunate, because there are some fine elements to it. Ben Affleck was born to act autistic. The story, when it's not deep into one of it's many tangents, is reasonably beguiling. But watching this movie is like witnessing a trainwreck in slow motion. By the time the accountant was sitting on the floor chatting with his long lost brother, there was only shrapnel left. *D+*


(I happened to see it in D-Box and was treated to riding atop sweeping camera moves and to a surprisingly wide range of gunshot intensities.)

Wildly uneven. Ben Affleck was very good though (and for some reason found him very attractive here mmmm) and I liked him and Kendrick together.

I'm surprised reviews for this were so mixed, because I thought it was pretty damn good. Sure it could have been even better with a more competent script, but for the most part I was thoroughly engaged and never found it boring or too long. Ben Affleck was fantastic and the action sequences were badass and very well staged. I even really liked how they used John Bernthal in this, because he's not just the typical villain which I found quite refreshing. Anna Kendrick isn't given much to do, but I enjoyed her scenes with Affleck mostly because the humor between them worked so well. J.K. Simmons was definitely underused, but his character's subplot didn't ruin the movie for me like it did for so many others. It's also nice to see Lithgow/Tambor in films these days, although neither are put to great use here.

The Accountant is good film hitting plenty of right marks. Unfortunately there's some flaws that didn't seem need be, but it's mainly cool, builds intrigue and with action scenes to my heart. It does try to draw on deep on drama as well, but these parts it doesn't do as well. The film is long but moves along well with Affleck in one of his best roles yet I'd say. Kendrick fits in well too, while I usually find her obnoxious. And the whole cast is filled out good with J.K Simmons and Bernthal as well. Bernthal's character makes a good entrance, but the development of his role with the not too surprising he's the brother and how they re-connect part I found the weakest part of the film. The misfire of the film is that tries to be too much really, several strings are hung out to make it unnecessary convoluted in the beginning. In the end everything gets tied up well, but the film could have been packaged more slickly. Overall it still stands out as very enjoyable Hitman/ Assassin film though.

B+

The Accountant

Really enjoyed it. Loved the mystery surrounding Christian Wolff, ZZZ Accounting, the mute childhood friend, the neuroscience center etc. Great action. Good pacing. Neat story but also a tad much, and it was too convenient for two brothers to coincidentally end up in a similar line of work and meet each other, but besides this and other little things (Affleck at times seems almost too cool to play an autistic man) Gavin O'Connor has made an entertaining hitman thriller evocative of 90s actioners such as Mercury Rising, The Jackal etc. The performances are all workmanlike, and the score, cinematography, editing etc. is all decent but not especially noteworthy.

B+

*** / ***** (C)

Making a new Bond, Hunt type of a superagent is not easy. Despite a rather weird backstory behind the main character, The Accountant does manage to set him up as an interesting person and I wouldn't mind seeing sequel. Hopefully the second time around the story won't be so contrived and predictable which is the main problem of the movie. Oh and Anna Kendrick. Girl can't act. Luckily she's not much in the movie.

I liked it alot even though the story is very messy. It features not one, but two plots involving Character A hiring Character B to investigate something Character A already knows the answer to. It still flows nicely though and I enjoyed the twists the story took, especially the resolution to the family flashbacks. Ben is outstanding and might have scored the #1 best actor position had I seen this in time.

The character stuff is good. The spy plot line isn't. I was pretty bored and confused for most of it.

C-

What the fuck even was this movie? This is one of the stupidest movies I've ever seen masquerading as some kind of high class adult thriller. The plot is ludicrous and just gets dumber and dumber by the end - and that 'twist' is the most obvious thing I've ever seen. Almost all of the actors are wasted, particularly J.K. Simmons and Anna Kendrick. The subplot with Simmons and the other detective grinds the film to a screeching halt. I hated their scenes. That being said, Affleck is at least solid and committed to the character, and I thought that the action sequences (though absolutely ridiculous) were very well done. It's just too bad this movie is too dumb to leave any other kind of impact. It feels like some high schooler watched a Christopher Nolan movie and tried to recreate it. C-

I just watched this again and I'm afraid it doesn't hold up.

Ben Affleck being autistic didn't really ring true for me. I cannot stand Anna Kendrick. And the brothers twist is stupid. It's still a capable action mystery thriller, but it really doesn't pack the punch I thought it did before. The fighting and gun work are not John Wick, and the mature hitman aura isn't on the same level as Sicario. I feel it wants to be both but it's neither. [heavy sigh]