The Accountant 2 (2025) - Just stick with the leads

I don't know why modern films are just sooooo long.  Maybe it's because they see how well dramas do on streaming services and think that more means better?  Either way, a movie like 'The Accountant 2' should really be no more than an hour and a half (a hundred minutes, tops).  Back in the eighties, an action film (let's say 'Commando') could easily fit everything it had to say in ninety minutes and was simple great fun. 'The Accountant 2' has all the elements in it to make it great fun, but it's just so full of 'bloat' that it makes it a real slog to get through.

But, there is good contained within - namely the two leads: Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal.  They play a pair of brothers who, as well as having the usual grating relationship siblings tend to have on each other anyway, also happen to be trained assassins.  The back and forth between them is great to watch and you get a real sense of the love-hate relationship between them.

Then there's the rest of the cast.  Um, I can't remember much about them - mainly because all their characters are so wafer thin that you won't remember anything about them either once the credits (finally!) roll.

There are also a couple of good punch-ups and action scenes, but - again - these feel too sparse, due to all the sub-plots with the duller characters who take up way too much of this film's runtime.

If there was some way of releasing a 'director's cut' of 'The Accountant 2' which just keeps the two leads and any action scenes they're involved in, it would be pretty good.  I guess that's why there's always a 'skip' function on DVDs and streaming services - you can just not bother with any scenes that don't include Affleck or Bernthal - you'll enjoy the film much more (and save yourself an hour or so of time).

5/10