The Accountant -Movie Review

The Accountant – R
Release Date: Fri 14 Oct 2016

The Accountant is an action/thriller starring Ben Affleck as the titular character Christian Wolff, a mathematical genius tasked with finding missing millions for an affluent client (John Lithgow.)

For the most part, this is a very well made and paced movie, with the mystery of who Wolff is and why he can do what he can giving way to the action as he uncovers more than he bargained for. If that sounds like fun – and you’re willing to take it at face value that it will be for the full 128 minutes, read no further.

The problems come in the form of a lot of screen time dedicated to setting up a twist and a huge exposition dump that shows up very late in the movie and grinds everything to a halt. I’m a big fan of J.K. Simmons, and his performance here is great – but he’s tasked with explaining the plot to the audience as if they showed up an hour late.

I’d recommend The Accountant despite it’s flaws, but it might be best to split in half rather than sit still for the full thing in one theatrical sitting.

Aaron and I saw it in the theater and had a discussion in the car: