The Accountant

Now that my work has slowed down from a hectic schedule and the month of November is coming up with interesting movies that will be covered in this blog, I decided to give myself a little warm up before those big releases by tackling one that has been on my radar for sometime. Normally I would mention "ever since I saw the trailer for this movie, I felt (insert parts of the trailer that caught my attention and/or made me feel emotions)" but this is one of the occasions where I haven't really seen any trailers for it. I decided to avoid looking at its trailers in order to find myself surprised by what The Accountant had to offer. The only thing I knew from what I heard was that there was action involved and it's another strong entry Ben Affleck, who has been rising ever since his comeback as an actor (and a director) in The Town. And after his performance in Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice, I believe people are more attentive to his most recent work. So after hearing the buzz about The Accountant and knowing about his strong recent work, I went into this movie ready for what it had to offered and came out pleasantly surprised by this drama thriller.

Plot: The story follows Ben Affleck's character as the accountant as he uses his skills to uncover financial wrongdoings of companies and groups he gets involved with. The story challenges you to pay attention to the situation at hand by having a couple of subplots happen throughout the movie. It can flashback to his childhood upbringing, his current activities, and outside forces looking for him due to his actions of the past. The main story to focus on belongs to that of the main character but the other stories add layers to understanding him. There are some nice plot twists in the end that make this story more complex and meaningful. There are some occasions where action will happen but for the most part is a story that slowly develops the characters and makes sense as these pieces come together in the final act. There are some things to like as well as not like about the story depending on the audience watching it. Overall I liked The Accountants story despite a few parts I could have done without.

Characters: With a couple of subplots involved some people may get confused on the characters involved with the story. There are fours characters to pay attention to in The Accountant: the accountant afflicted with a case of autism (Ben Affleck), an in-house accountant (Anna Kendrick), a hitman (Jon Bernthal), and one of the directors of the Treasury Department (J.K. Simmons). Ben Affleck does a great job portraying the main character in both encompassing his moral code and the autism spectrum he poses. He makes this movie enjoyable and gives the audience reason to care about him as the movie moves forward showing him growing through his interactions and his rough upbringing. Anna Kendrick's character doesn't have too much screen time (as do the rest of the other characters) but she also does a great job connecting with the main character in terms of a friendship that helps him with his antisocial aspect. There is one part of the movie that lets her be pretty awesome that I won't go into details with but to those of you who have seen, you know what I'm taking about and can agree that it's pretty awesome. As for the hitman, Jon Bernthal (as known as the best thing about the second season of Daredevil) does a good job, despite the limited screen time, he possesses the deeper the story gets. J.K. Simmons portrayed his role pretty well that adds to the layers of the movie in an unexpected way. I won't go into much details about these characters since it would risk spoiling the story but they make The Accountant an enjoyable movie to watch.

Overall Consensus:  The Accountant brings in an action movie that challenges you to keep up with what's going on while also bringing enjoyment through its great action, Ben Affleck's performance, and portrayal of autism. ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Possible Reasons to Watch it: If you enjoy watching movies with great Ben Affleck performances. You want to see a movie that challenges you to understand and piece together what's going on. If you want a movie that shows a character exhibiting features of autism. If you like Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, and/or Jon Bernthal. If you want less action and more character development.

Possible Reasons to Avoid it: If you don't like watching movies with great Ben Affleck performances. You aren't interested in movies that challenges you to understand and piece together what's going on. You don't want to see a movie that shows a character exhibiting features of autism. If you don't like Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, and/or Jon Bernthal. If you want more action and less character development.