The Accountant (2016)

“The Accountant” stars Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J. K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, and John Lithgow.  Released on October 14, 2016, the film is about an autistic mathematical genius who works as a forensic accountant for dangerous criminal organizations.

The film is directed by Gavin O’Connor, who also directed films such as Tumbleweeds, Miracle, Warrior, and Jane Got a Gun.  After taking on the role as the Caped Crusader in Batman V Superman, Affleck goes from being a superhero to being an accountant who kills people.  It may sound like a pretty cool concept that features a cast of well-known celebrities, but does it have the right calculations to make it work?

Pros:
Very good performances from the cast, including Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff.

The action was well-directed.

Solid cinematography.

Its representation of autism was relatable to me.

Cons:
A couple of scenes were a bit slow.

Typical action thriller storyline.

Final thoughts: With a talented cast, a couple of entertaining action sequences, and an interesting representation of autism and accounting, “The Accountant” is a solid action thriller that gets the job done despite its usual action thriller cliches.  It does take a while for the action part to come in, but Gavin O’Connor made sure that I was entertained by the story he wants to tell until that happens, and for the most part, it works.  I would recommend it to those who are familiar with autism and/or accounting, or those who just want to watch Ben Affleck kick some butt.  Whichever comes first.

B