What if Batman was a bean counter? Okay, that’s not exactly what The Accountant is trying to do, but it’s close, closer probably than it intended.
Ben Affleck plays Christian Wolff (not his real name: alter ego), a mild-mannered, socially awkward accountant. And when he whips his glasses off, he becomes a vigilante crime fighter. Sort of. Okay, what actually happens is he keeps his glasses on in order to “uncook” the books for various crime syndicates. Like, for the worst and dirtiest people. But if they break his moral code, he either calls in the commissioner – excuse me – treasury agent (played 
by JK Simmons, who will indeed play Commissioner Gordon in Affleck’s upcoming The Batman) or goes ballistic on their ass. But not crazy ballistic: he remains very cold and very calm in order to diligently murder everyone in his path. So autism becomes a super power and The Accountant is just Batman without a cowl. Although admittedly when I saw Ben Affleck marking up a window, I immediately though of the role as a little more Good Will Hunting meets Jason Bourne – Matt Damon’s territory, in other words.
In order to play autistic, Ben goes affectless and Affleckless. He turns off the charm and the smirk and the simmering rage but doesn’t quite know what he’s left with. It doesn’t help that The Accountant suffers from its own identity crisis, sometimes darting into the phone booth as an action flick 
complete with stalky sniper Jon Bernthal (from Daredevil, just not THAT Daredevil) as the villain, only to emerge as a drama or worse yet, a quirkie indie romance with Anna Kendrick as the Mary Jane, I mean, the damsel in distress\love interest. And if this all sounds like a lot to keep track of, don’t worry, there’s a portion in the middle that’s perfect for taking a 20 minute nap and waking up feeling like you’ve missed nothing at all.
But for all that, I enjoyed The Accountant. It’s not going to make my top 10 this year, and maybe not even my top 10 this week (that’s not a hard knock, I’m just on my way to a film festival), but it was entertaining and fun, even if Gavin O’Connor’s direction is a bit uninspired. Plus, it’s kind of great to see autism as an asset rather than a setback. Affleck manages not to overplay his cards although the story does require us to equate a neurodevelopmental disorder with superior morality – superior even to the law, which has Viola Davis’s voice ringing in my ears – what if the next Superman is an accountant?
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
Loved reading your thoughts on this one Jay! I really didn’t know how to feel about the trailer, but I think I’ll give it a go now. I just won’t rush out for it. I’ll miss that Affleck charm though!
– Allie
LikeLike
You are better than Roger or Ebert combined, Jay!
LikeLike
Ben Affleck has always been kind of hit or miss for me, but this sounds pretty decent, so I may try it.💁🏻
LikeLike
I look forward to seeing this one. The main character definitely makes for an interesting protagonist. Thanks for the review, and have fun at the NH film festival!
LikeLike
Jay, I’m glad you were entertained by this one because it caught my interest for some reason. ;o)
LikeLike
I’ll give it ago, sounds different, enjoy your festival!
LikeLike
We have been seeing the commercials for awhile now, I’d like to go see this movie
LikeLike
This is a great review and I do want to see it but not sure how good I will find it. Funny I think of the character more like having Asberger’s than autism…
LikeLike
Well Asperger’s is on the autism spectrum, they’re all just shades of gray and in fact they resist labels in the movie.
LikeLike
I think we’re going to see this one.
LikeLike
Great review! I’m going to see this next week, but my expectations are lowered a bit after seeing a lot of luke warm reviews.
LikeLike
Nice review. I dare say this one has now gone from ‘mnah’ to ‘one of those movies I might catch at some point. Maybe. If it shows up on Netflix. Maybe’.
LikeLike
Hi Jay, this movie had so much potential that wasn’t properly realized. I still enjoyed it quite a bit but it’s far from being a great movie.
LikeLike
Thanks for reviewing this movie, I was wondering about it.
LikeLike
This never completely gels, does it? But, like you said, overall it is a cool watch, even if it does devolve into a poor man’s Equalizer/Wick.
LikeLike
I was wondering what this one was about. I’ve seen the commercials, but they didn’t really give me any sense of what the movie was about at all. Now I know. Thanks.
LikeLike
It sounds like this one fell short of what it could have been… This line made me laugh: “There’s a portion in the middle that’s perfect for taking a 20 minute nap” ~ Oh I’ve seen movies that have this same feature 😉
LikeLike