The Accountant 2 ★★½

IN 2016 Ben Affleck, Gavin O’Connor and Bill Dubuque did the impossible – they managed to make accountants look bad ass.

Action/thriller The Accountant saw Affleck playing the wonderfully named Christian Wolff who used his autistic skills to achieve spectacular results for both his financial clients and those who hired him to carry out assassinations.

How Wolff got to this point was never satisfactorily explained by Dubuque’s script, but Affleck’s charm coupled with director O’Connor’s efficient handling of the action and suspense sequences made the film a success both critically and at the box office.

Nine years later the same trio has brought us a sequel, The Accountant 2,  which unfortunately doesn’t improve on the original in any way.

Firstly, the cast is not as strong. Affleck’s performance is in keeping with the character but doesn’t feel like much of a progression by film’s end.

Jon Bernthal is back and delivers the film’s best performance as Wolff’s brother Braxton (another good name), but it’s still not exactly a stretch for him.

Other good members of the original supporting cast are absent, to the sequel’s detriment.

Dubuque’s script softens the Wollf character and ends up pushing him to almost super-hero status, seeking to solve a mystery that helps reunite a family and allows Wollf and Braxton kill people only to survive, as opposed to being paid for it.

There’s a moment in the film where we see others helping Wolff in the background and it’s frankly a little silly for this type of film.

This leaves two strong points – the chemistry between Affleck and Bernthal, which is good, and the action sequences, one of which is better than those in the first film.

Watched at the cinema.