The Stream: The story doesn’t make any sense, and the humor is pretty corny.

The Big Screen: Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal play off each other well.

The Final Bill: This unnecessary sequel overcomes a convoluted plot with good action scenes and fun leads.

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Gavin O’Connor
Writers: Bill Dubuque
Stars: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Allison Robertson, Daniella Pineda
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rating: R for strong violence, and language throughout.
Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes
Production Companies: Artists Equity, Amazon MGM Studios, 51 Entertainment, Zero Gravity Management, Warner Bros.
Platform: In theaters April 25, 2025
Notable Trailers: Thunderbolts, Shadow Force, I Know What You Did Last Summer, F1,

Well, Streamers, we’re in the first post-Sinners weekend, and the bar has been set pretty high. Nevertheless, there are more major motion picture releases to come before the summer movie season starts like this weekend’s release, The Accountant 2. In this sequel to The Accountant, Ben Affleck returns as Christian Wolff, the autistic accountant who not only launders money for nefarious criminals but also has special skills to bring them to justice. This time Agent Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) enlists Christian to help solve the murder of her colleague, Raymond King (J.K. Simmons). When things get complicated, Christian brings in his unhinged brother, Braxton (Jon Bernthal), as some backup. Sibling rivalry and shoot-out hijinks ensue.

As unlikely sequels go, The Accountant 2 seems to be one of the most unnecessary. I don’t know who was clamoring for more of The Accountant, but someone must have really liked Ben Affleck as Christian. In this movie, Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal are the main reason to see this movie. They have really fun chemistry and play up the sibling connection very well. There is an emotional undercurrent to their scenes even though most of them are pretty jokey. While there are legitimately funny bits, most of this humor in this movie is pretty corny, but especially moments between Affleck and Bernthal.

The biggest issue with The Accountant 2 is that the story doesn’t make any sense. Of course, there is a mystery that Medina, Christian and Braxton are trying to unravel, but it is so confusing. The movie doesn’t do a good job of explaining the connections between the characters and the things that are happening. Unfortunately, it all feels like perfunctory background noise that is leading Christian and Braxton to an over-the-top shoot out. In my opinion, it is pretty boring because these are plot mechanics that have no real meaning. At least, there are fun action scenes and banter between the two leads, I guess.

Ultimately, The Accountant 2 ticks most of the boxes for a decent action movie. It has some tense and occasionally thrilling fight scenes; and there’s some humor with good chemistry between Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal. Unfortunately, the story is a confusing, mishmash of action movie tropes that make the whole thing feel meaningless. Nevertheless, this movie is an okay diversion from real life, but I’d wait for it to come to a streaming service with a handful of popcorn.