The Accountant

The Accountant is a hit emotional thriller with some perfect action and a perhaps unnecessarily overcomplicated story with a lot of details that will make sense in later scenes and bring a big surprise to the story (“Do you like puzzles?”). At least on the first viewing. On the second viewing, which I did because of the difficult decision between four and five stars, my enthusiasm over the super-clever script turned into mere delight over a cleverly constructed genre movie. But the emotions remained. (11/30/2016)

All right, autistic people are beautiful creatures, but don't give them weapons and super computers, because they'll probably start a secret service. I haven't seen a film in a long time that falls apart so grandiose after a captivating introduction. The first part, where the viewer actually watches the very routine actions of the main character and a few hints, is not boring and attracts with promises of interesting revelations. Gavin O'Connor also directs very smoothly and elegantly. The second half, where the information deficit is being addressed and something needs to be unraveled quickly, was probably written in a secret collaboration between Cimrman and Jarchovský. I haven't seen an explanatory monologue used worse since Innocence. When J. K. Simmons, with his feet on the table, explaining 90% of the story, it's on the verge of non-art. And the final revelations are really almost a crazy comedy. If at the beginning the question arises as to whether realism and action exaggeration will be fighting against each other in the film, the conclusion offers a ready-made orgy of things that do not fit together. I absolutely appreciate the grace with which both Affleck and (again amazing) Bernthal handle the WTF moments. And I don't have to be autistic to figure it out. (01/02/2017)

Interesting film. Maybe a bit too convoluted and complicated for me in some places, I got lost at times and a few things seemed unnecessary, but otherwise an entertaining flick with good acting by Ben Affleck, decent action, clever dialogue and an engaging story. 75%. (12/08/2016)

If you ignore the overcomplicated plot, the laughable attempts at psychological profoundness and the weird twists, it works fine. The statuesque Affleck is a good choice for the character of an autist (regardless of whether his character has anything to do with the real capabilities of an autist). The action is good and executed without hesitation; a 7/10 overall, and I’m rounding up for how they settle the tab with the main villain. (11/16/2016)

O'Connor disappointed me. Warrior was the best made cliché in history and completely blew me away, The Accountant is as cold as a woman on her period and downright insulting when it fails to end its so cleverly written story with progressively more significant themes in a way that would be at least somewhat memorable (and instead pulls off the most inappropriate twist for a narrative so serious and smart throughout). No one can deny the film is excellently cast (Affleck is perfect for the role), has balls, and the idea of a bespectacled autistic bureaucrat as a bad ass motherfucker terminator is awfully cool, but the director can only sell all that potential entertainment in a few action moments, otherwise he can't handle the surprising dramatic superficiality, unfortunately. And I was really looking forward to it. 65% (12/08/2016)