Affleck Accounts For “The Accountant”

Release Date：Oct/14/2016

Genre：Action/Crime/Drama/Thriller

Director：Gavin O'Connor

Cast：Ben Affleck、Anna Kendrick、J.K. Simmons

Viola's Rating：6.6

Although “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” didn’t achieve the critical acclaim DC comics aficionados and superhero fans hoped for, those who like Ben Affleck will be happy to know that his latest feature film “The Accountant” was released on October 14, 2016, and “Live by Night” will follow early next year.

This action, crime thriller (Yes, it is an action film.) tells the story of accountant, Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck). As this math savant goes through the account books for his new client, the US Treasury Department closes in on his activities and the body count starts to rise.

Except for the last part about “body count”, this plot summary sounds like the accounting version of “The Imitation Game”. And to be honest, any person with a high math aptitude could have been written in as the main character, which may have disappointed some viewers who expected a biographical drama instead of a fight-filled action thriller. Despite this unexpected turn, the plot itself still attracts people who like to solve puzzles as Wolff does.

Besides the adrenaline-filled fight scenes and the intriguing plot, “The Accountant” was highly anticipated long before its release because of its stellar cast which included Oscar winners Ben Affleck and J.K. Simmons, and Oscar Nominated Anna Kendrick. Even though sitting at the theater, you can tell there are several unreasonable narratives through moviegoers’ laughter and disdainful looks (if you can see others’ faces), the review critics are mixed. 

One flaw cannot obscure the splendor of the jade. “The Accountant” is still very entertaining due to many artful details Director Gavin O’Connor put into the feature film paving the way for the audience to immerse themselves in Wolff’s world. From the childhood story which tells us how Wolff is different to the flashbacks he has throughout the film, the audience starts to understand why he does certain things, but still there are some bookends that are not so easily predicted.

While picking autism as a characteristic to build the protagonist, “The Accountant” also teaches moviegoers some facts about this disorder. The flick is humorous, but it’s not for the audience to laugh at people with autism. When you laugh with “The Accountant”, it shows that how people with autism can deal with their disorder and even cooperate with their symptoms, especially repetitive behaviors.

When you go see “the Accountant” don’t expect to see a biographical motion picture, instead look forward to two entertaining hours with the charming Ben Affleck.