Richie’s Review: The Accountant

 Many new films have been released this fall including “The Accountant”- a fresh thriller that stars Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick. The movie is about an autistic man who is the accountant for some of the world’s most dangerous people. Once the agent, played by J.K. Simmons, has an encounter with Christian Wolff the accountant, he sends someone to track him down. While at the same time, the accountant is working on finding a big hole in a company’s budget and financial records, which gets assassins involved.

There were some things I admire the film for doing, one of them being how they try to incorporate characters with mental disabilities into the movie specifically the main character. It was cool to see a different kind of protagonist being shown. Not many autistic people or characters with disabilities are the center of focus, so I have to give the writer respect for that. But, with that being said, I thought they could have done a better job portraying those characters, at many times it felt forced. Ben Affleck was alright; but not really convincing. The idea of his character sounds original, that is being in an action film, but could have been done with more care.

One aspect I hated most about the film was the plot. Based off the trailer, I was tremendously intrigued with the idea of an accountant that is dangerous. Finally, walking into the movie and realizing what the movie was going to be about sort of killed it for me. I wasn’t expecting there to be a sensei (karate master), or a woman that he needs to be saved, or a company in need of help. I was expecting some intense action sequences, backed up by a strong cast and new characters. I was also beyond let down for how lazy the writing was. There were too many plot holes and useless characters that they eventually got in the way of the plot.

The Accountant was entertaining, but you can easily tell there was not much effort put into the blockbuster. The characters were flat, the plot was weak, and there wasn’t anything new. The action sequences were fast-paced and surprising but they were quick and there weren’t enough. I would personally recommend to wait for this movie to come out on Redbox or DVD.