Nearly a decade after first appearing in 2016’s The Accountant, Christian Wolff is back. Two-time Oscar-winner Ben Affleck, known for Good Will Hunting, Gone Girl, and playing Batman in the DC Extended Universe, among other works, returns as the titular accountant who uses his savant skills to do the financial dirty work of international master criminals.
This time around, however, he’s fighting on the side of the good guys. Chris’s mission, handed to him by Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina – with Cynthia Addai-Robinson reprising the role – is to help solve the murder of her boss, FinCEN director Raymond King, played by JK Simmons, who was killed by unknown assassins while working a case.
With the help of his estranged brother Braxton, a killer-for-hire played by Jon Bernthal, Chris applies his brilliant, neurodivergent mind – and those of his nonverbal remote assistant Justine and her legion of young autistic hackers-in-training – to solving the puzzle, all while evading some of the most ruthless killers out there.
“A really interesting thing happened between the first one and this movie, which was that, for a bunch of different reasons, I felt more familiar with and more empathy and more understanding for this character,” says Affleck, 52, of coming back to Christian Wolff.
“By the time I got to doing the movie, I really had a bunch more stuff I wanted to explore and try, and I felt way more comfortable… And frankly, I owe a debt of gratitude to some of the people in my life who I really love, who helped me really understand this character better.”
Part of what makes Chris such a brilliant action hero, Affleck says, is the fact that his brain works differently to other protagonists’ ones in the genre. Chris is autistic, which in his case manifests as being frank, direct, and having a brilliant mind for puzzles, mathematics and data, and in The Accountant 2 we see how Chris’s nature is contrasted with that of his fiery, joke-cracking brother Braxton.
“Any sort of hero – whether it’s an action hero, a romantic comedy, or a drama – if you put forth somebody who’s just perfect, and everything’s flawless, and they meet all of these unrealistic expectations for what a human being is, I think it makes it feel unrealistic and maybe a little bit boring, and you disconnect from it…” Affleck says.
“There is a vulnerability to it – this is a guy who’s got some things that he does exceedingly well, and other things that he finds difficult to do, and (they) are things that we all, in ways, find difficult to do. How do we have social interactions? How do we show love? How do we start a relationship? How do we flirt with somebody? How do we let someone know we’re interested in them and not feel like a total idiot when we realise: ‘Oh, they’re not interested in me’? You know, those are like, basic human challenges and really fun to explore.
“And I suppose the answer is, just like anything, if the character is interesting and real and a three-dimensional human, then you want to watch them in the context of any genre.”
“What I think is so special about Christian and how Ben plays him is that he’s just brutally honest about everything,” adds director Gavin O’Connor, 61, who was also at the helm for 2016’s The Accountant.
“He’s never manipulating anybody. He’s just authentically himself, and he’s just truth serum. So that’s an interesting character, because usually people are working angles all the time, and this and that, to get what they want. He doesn’t do any of that.
“He’s so odd and unique and fun and funny and beautiful and authentic, and I think that’s what makes him so unique.”
While The Accountant 2 is undoubtedly an action flick, with plenty of gunfights, fistfights, and cool stunts, at its core is a heartfelt story of brotherhood, and of estranged and disparate siblings re-establishing their relationship.
“(In the first film) we only get to see bits and pieces of Brax, and it’s a very sort of polished lens. You don’t really know who this guy is,” says The Walking Dead and The Bear actor Jon Bernthal of Chris’s brother.
“And if there were expectations for the character, I think the expectations are that (he’s) that guy who’s got it all figured out, very polished, nice clothes, very slick, knows how to fight well. And the opportunity that these guys gave me, which I’m so grateful for, was we got to show what was behind the curtain – and he’s every bit as damaged, every bit as messy, every bit as hurting and hungry as his brother is.”
“For so many reasons, for every reason, I cannot imagine a better person to get to do this with… Ben’s a hero of mine,” adds Bernthal of his co-star.
Bernthal’s character, Brax, is also very funny, and the actor expertly blends his vulnerability with his humour. As a whole, the film is replete with comedy, which has been noted by critics and its stars alike.
Indeed, Cynthia Addai-Robinson says: “One thing that really struck me, and I think the audiences will experience it too, is that there’s a lot more humour in this film.
“It’s a lot funnier than you’re expecting,” adds the 40-year-old The Rings of Power star.
“And a lot of the humour just comes from this very uncomfortable dynamic of these people kind of forced together. It initially starts as this reluctant partnership; it’s Marybeth reaching out to Christian Wolff and essentially saying, like: ‘I kind of need your help’.
“And then he brings along his brother, and then it all kind of goes downhill from there.”
The Accountant 2 comes to cinemas on Friday, April 25.
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