I hope you’re proud of yourself; you just empowered an entire gaggle of nerds. What is the proper term for a collection of nerds, anyway? Shall we vote? A pocket-protector of nerds? No. Too awkward. An introversion of nerds? Oooh I like that one. But it assigns a psychological make-up that isn’t necessarily true; there are plenty of extroverted nerds who are pleased as punch about it. A galaxy of nerds? I like that for the sci-fi feel. But I think I’m going with … a cosine of nerds. Yes, cosine is usually a singular thing … but only a nerd would care.
You just know this film was made by bookworms, huh? A cosine or more sat back and imagined the kind of guy who kicks ass at your taxes during the day and literally kicks ass in the night … or vice-versa. I’m not sure. What I am fairly sure of is Ben Affleck’s character here could take either of his superheroes, Batman or Daredevil, and do it efficiently, like he was on the clock.
Christian Wolff (Affleck) is precisely 50.638 shades of black ops. Clearly, the other guy made a rounding error. He’s basically badass behind the desk or behind enemy lines. This film has plenty of him doing both while spattering it with the crazy life that got this spectrum kid to adulthood. The Accountant is a character study disguised as a thriller. In the home office of the Treasury Department, Ray King (J.K. Simmons) and Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) are searching for this mysterious shadowy figure who seems to show up at warlord and mafia summits like Men’s Warehouse Waldo … “here he is with Don Corleone … and here with ISIS … and here backstage with Justin Bieber…”
Meanwhile, low level tech accountant Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick) has discovered the kind of flaw she should just keep to herself. She doesn’t, of course, and outsider Wolff is brought in to investigate the books at a robotics company. The great part of The Accountant is while we know Wolff can cripple an entire room full of thugs in a matter of seconds, I was far more interested in the forensic accounting piece of the film … and, to tell the truth, so was he. You can see how Ben Affleck’s acting gets far deeper when he’s delving into ledgers and scribbling figures on glass. When he’s not, it’s much harder for him to stay in character. “Psst, Ben, you’re Autistic or at least very Aspergery – ignore the script and focus.”
The Accountant is one of those films you enjoy watching while it’s on, but upon reflection a day or two later, you just can’t get past the bullshit. See, yeah, sure, I can believe a guy who can walk in cold from the street, look at ten years of foreign accounting books and identify who’s skimming in just a day. Sure, that can happen. And I can believe in a guy who can take out
professional soldiers at night, through glass, from 50 yards away. Yeah, some guys can do that. And, yes, an unarmed man can walk into mafia headquarters and kill everybody in under 90 seconds. Why not? But I don’t buy that it’s all the same guy, ok? And I sure don’t believe this guy’s kryptonite is giving him a calculator missing the number 3 or showing him all but the last ten minutes of The Usual Suspects.
Wolff was a good choice for Affleck. While he clearly didn’t bring his A-game, acting-wise, he was good enough that you’ll recognize his talent and appreciate that he scored in the black this time. For a guy with a ledger column full of red ink, he still needs a fair amount of goodwill before his sheet is officially balanced.
Wolff has little need of assurance
With disciplines he shows great endurance
No other can
Than this CPA man
Rate your life before expiring your insurance
Rated R, 128 Minutes
D: Gavin O’Connor
W: Bill Dubuque
Genre: Kicking ass. Taking deductions.
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Real life accountants
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Real life hitmen
