No one would call The Accountant a massive success when it premiered back in 2016. If the Ben Affleck crime thriller about an autistic criminal accountant made any kind of impression, it was for the controversy it kicked up over its “autism as a superpower” hook — a fairly ridiculous depiction of savant syndrome that was considered a retrograde stereotype long before The Accountant revived it. It might’ve been destined to fade away into obscurity like many other wannabe franchise starters, if not for the second life it found on streaming. Somehow, The Accountant became one of Affleck’s most popular thrillers, leading to a sequel being greenlit a whopping eight years after the original hit theaters.
It was an announcement that was met with many raised eyebrows — after all, who was asking for a sequel to The Accountant? It seems that director Gavin O’Connor, and producer and star Affleck, are keenly aware of that reaction, because The Accountant 2 doubles down on the strangest and most ludicrous parts of the original, resulting in a sequel that is wildly more fun, even more absurd, and disarmingly emotional.
