The Accountant

After seeing The Accountant, one may think that it was an adaptation of a novel. And in that regard, it's an adaptation that crammed every single page of said novel into its two hour runtime. 

Suffice it to say that there is a lot of story fit into The Accountant, most of it great, some of it good, and a few threads that feel unnecessary or superfluous. After seeing some rather dismal reviews for it, I prepared myself for the worst -- yet another disappointing 2016 flick -- even though I'd been greatly looking forward to it. 

Much to my enjoyment, I was only slightly disappointed, and rather impressed by some of the other aspects of the film; it all added up to an enjoyable experience and probably one of those movies that I'll look back and hold in rather high regard for 2016, even if it won't make my Top 10 at the end of the year. The film has issues but really they're mostly because of its ambition, which is commendable to a certain extent. 

As someone who dabbles/enjoys writing his own spy novels I have to say, this would have made one hell of a book, but instead it resulted in one mostly enjoyable movie. In fact, it reminded me a lot of John Wick -- a more "realistic" and less-stylized version, mind you -- but it does a lot of things similarly. I'm not sure that it will age and grow on me as fantastic as John Wick has (I mean seriously, how f**king awesome is that movie?), but I think there's a ton of potential here for The Accountant to not just be a standalone film, but the start to a new series. 

The most impressive part about The Accountant, and probably my favorite part about it, was the world building. There was a lot of forethought put into this character, his past, and the way he operates. Much like Wick, there is a world here behind the man and a reason he became who he is. It's what adds the most longevity to this potential franchise and it's something the film could have easily skipped in lieu of a tighter trip. So it acts as a double edge sword because there's so much backstory packed in -- most of which I enjoyed -- but it does extend the film significantly. I imagine this is where most critics took issue and I think their points are valid, I just tended to enjoy these moments and explanations more than most. Also worthwhile is the character and Ben Affleck himself. This is a boy who had a difficult childhood, battling some significant autism all while moving a lot due to his father's military job. The character's ticks and quirks are mostly subtle, but appreciated, and they create a unique protagonist that would have otherwise been fairly generic without this unique aspect to his psyche. Affleck does a superb job delivering lines flatly and consistently using his eyes to make us think that Christian is always calculating something in his head. I particularly enjoyed his hand blowing tick, especially before he'd blow people away with a Barret .50 cal...

"You see here? Here I drew a smiley face. Because numbers make me happy!"

Looks like Shane made it just fine after
the zombie apocalypse ended...

There's also a lot more to like within the stuffed-turkey of a movie. J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, and Anna Kendrick all do well here but there's also wasted talent in Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow who have such limited side roles that I'm not sure it was worth getting that big of talent. There's also quite a bit of solid cinematography throughout as well as some cool action. On that note, I was disappointed that the action delves into the "generic" near the end. For nearly the whole film, Affleck seems like a borderline superhero with headshot after headshot, quick hand-to-hand combat, and being two steps ahead of his enemies at all times. The final action sequence is rather dull compared to what came before and it would have been much cooler (not to mention, shorter) if Christian Wolff would have remained just as lethal in that segment. But again, most of the action is well choreographed, violent, and lethal in the best of ways. I also enjoyed the original score to the film as it was successful in adding an extra layer of emotional depth, particularly in the final scenes. It's not anything I'll listen to in my free time, but it definitely wasn't generic drivel either. 

I alluded to it earlier, but where The Accountant struggles is with organizing its plot and just the general fact that there's too much here. As a book, all of this is welcomed if not encouraged, but as a film there had to be some parts that were streamlined. I can definitely think of a couple areas I would have trimmed and/or cut altogether, and the film doesn't help itself either with several camera focuses on characters (mainly Affleck) that last way too long. There's a 105 minute version of this movie that accomplishes the same plot and action but is more digestible. The plot is a tad convoluted, but it does make sense if you can take the logic leaps-of-faith with a grain of salt. There are a handful of scenes where characters make connections seemingly out of thin air and you really just have to go with it, realizing later that they were either A) lucky or B) technically right. 

"I'm going to show this wall who's boss!!"

Given it's current scores on rating websites, it seems to be dividing critics quite considerably. I fully acknowledge that it has its issues, but I was also enjoying myself enough to where they didn't bother me all too much. I'm squarely parked in the camp that felt like most of the numbers all lined up and the balance sheet came out showing that the assets and liabilities were nearly matched up. #Cornyaccountingjokes

CONS:

• Packs too much into the 2 hours it has. There are at least 3-4 different plot threads and they weren't all necessary
• Takes its sweet time here and there. When your movie is already lengthy due to plot, it's best to trim down the 30-seconds-of-camera-focus-on-Affleck to something more like 15 seconds
• Action devolves from awesome to generic in the final battle
• Jon Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor didn't need to be in this movie 
• Handful of logic leaps of faith that you just have to accept to move forward

PROS:

• The uniqueness of this character makes Christian Wolff memorable. This is both thanks to Ben Affleck's strong performance as well as the backstory and unique attributes of autism
• Fun and talented core cast
• The first 2/3rds have some awesome, quick action
• There is a tremendous amount of world building going on, most of which I appreciated. It provides context as well as opening the possibility for a sequel or two
• Good cinematography throughout and a pretty great original score
• The plot, while overstuffed and complicated, is an interesting road of twists and turns. The final "twist" is telegraphed pretty heavily, but still a welcomed resolution

Rath's Review Score | 8/10