I Loved Ben Affleck In The Accountant, But His Return Is Not The Most Exciting Thing About The Accountant 2

The Accountant 2

will see Ben Affleck reprise his leading role, but that is nowhere close to the most exciting thing about the sequel. The Accountant came out in 2016, and it focused on Affleck as a uniquely skilled account manager named Christian Wolff who makes vast sums of money cleaning up shady business practices. Christian is autistic, which has led to him having an obsessive passion for numbers. However, Christian is a lot more than meets the eye, as seen when he is forced to fight.

And yet, The Accountant didn’t fully rise to its potential as the movie lacked a degree of excitement and a clear central narrative. Instead, it included a romance plot, several converging teams, an investigation into Christian Wolff, and a twist ending that tied back into several flashbacks, making it highly predictable. But The Accountant 2 has the chance to dramatically improve on the original film thanks to one big change.

Jon Bernthal Having A Larger Role In The Accountant 2 Is The Sequel’s Real Hook

Jon Bernthal Has Become An Even Bigger Star Since 2016

Jon Bernthal appeared in a fairly minor role as Braxton in The Accountant. Braxton led an elite group of security agents to protect high-profile clients, and took extreme measures to ensure discretion, secrecy, and safety. However, this means that Braxton eventually comes head to head against Christian, who is after one of the individuals who hired him. Throughout the movie, the pair come close to meeting, but Bernthal’s character is clearly not the focus of the movie.

However, The Accountant 2 is set to change that with Bernthal taking on a much more prominent role as the same character. This makes sense, as the original film’s big twist was that Christian and Braxton are actually brothers, and this explains why they have similar skills and abilities in terms of fighting and operating in a stealthy manner. The Accountant 2 will follow on from the brothers being reunited, and see them work side by side to tackle a new mission. And considering Bernthal’s rise in popularity, this is absolutely the right call for the sequel.

Why Jon Bernthal Had Such A Small Role In The Accountant

The Accountant Wanted To Keep Braxton’s Identity Under Wraps

While Bernthal’s role in the original movie was vital, it was also handled carefully. It appears that the movie wanted to keep the fact that Christian and Braxton are brothers as a big reveal, which meant keeping the brothers apart for most of the movie. Instead of showing Bernthal and Affleck together, it relied on flashback sequences of the characters as children, and avoided mentioning names.

While this obscured the details about their relationship, the mystery twist was also not all that secretive. It’s clear that things get personal for Braxton early on, and the movie pushes the flashbacks and positions these characters in opposite corners so hard that it can be easily predicted. But the fact that it was intended to be a twist means that the movie had to minimize Bernthal’s appearances in order to keep the secret under wraps.

The Accountant 2 Focusing On The Brothers Means It Will Be Different From The First Movie

The Accountant 2 Is Going To Be A Totally Different Movie

The Accountant 2’s revised approach to featuring the brothers prominently, and bringing Bernthal in as a co-lead, makes the sequel a much more exciting prospect. The dynamics between the brothers can finally be explored in greater depth: the reasons behind their estrangement, and the incidents that led them down such different paths. It’s also great to have two action legends, Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal, work side by side in a film that promises to be more action-packed and focused than the original. Without the convoluted sub-plots and attempts to hide details from the audience, it would likely be a much more focused and exciting prospect than the original.

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From initial descriptions of the plot, it appears that the brothers are still estranged, and with the movie being released almost 10 years after the original, it makes sense that roughly the same amount of time would have passed for the characters. This means there is even more to uncover in terms of why the brothers continued to keep their distance despite reuniting at the end of the original. Ultimately, the approach to the sequel, and the inclusion of Jon Bernthal could make The Accountant 2 a far better movie than The Accountant, with more action, more thrills, and a dynamic duo at its center.

The Accountant 2

7/10

Release Date

April 25, 2025

Runtime

124 minutes

Director

Gavin O’Connor

Writers

Bill Dubuque

Producers

Ben Affleck, Kevin Halloran, Matt Damon, Jamie Patricof, Lynette Howell Taylor, Scott LaStaiti, Michael Joe, Mark Williams, Alison Winter