The Accountant – A new breed of hero (that isn’t a duck)

As much a Ben Affleck has come in for criticism over the years, it’s fair to say that, given the right script (and/or the right part or director), he is actually capable of being more than just a passable leading man (even despite what that song said about him in ‘Team America: World Police!’).  Therefore, it’s no surprise that he’d want to keep the momentum of his acting ability rolling by taking roles that may require a little more than just showing up and looking good.

We’ve seen plenty of films about hitmen and plenty of those involve a – practically indestructible – leading man taking on scores of faceless bad guys with precision accuracy and never so much as getting a scratch. ‘The Accountant’ could quite easily slip into this kind of genre.  However, what sets it apart is that our protagonist (Affleck) is both a hitman, due to his overbearing father taking extreme measures at getting him to ‘toughen up’ and ensure he doesn’t spend the rest of his life getting picked on or taken advantage and also an accountant.  If you’re wondering why those two professions somehow work so well, it’s because Affleck plays an autistic hitman/accountant who’s therefore not just a bit socially awkward, but also amazing with figures on balance sheets and killing people with sniper rifles.

And, our heroic pen-pusher gets tangled up in a job that involves both his professions when he audits some shady company’s books and gets more than he bargained for when the company’s director (played by the seemingly ever-evil John Lithgow) decides to ‘fire’ their new accountant (in more ways than one!).

There’s definitely plenty of like about ‘The Accountant.’ It’s not just the run-of-the-mill action/hitman story that it could have been, as the whole ‘autism’ element does add an extra layer as to why Affleck’s character is like he is.  However, an accountant-hitman’s life is never easy and a fellow hitman (Jon Bernthal) is hot on his case.  I’ve been a big fan of Jon Bernthal since ‘The Walking Dead’ and he really does seem to be having a lot of fun in this role and it’s a pity he’s not in it more than he is.  Instead, much of the plot isn’t taken up with the Affleck vs Bernthal, but with the ‘love interest’ for Affleck played by Anna Kendrick.  I have nothing against her as she’s a perfectly capable actress, however it just seemed that this element of the film really was crowbarred in, just to add a love story into something that didn’t really need it.

Overall, ‘The Accountant’ is certainly different enough to be worth a watch if you’re a fan of Affleck or the genre itself.  However, whereas the premise is slightly original, the execution does contain the usual clichés you’d expect with a film like this.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that