An offbeat espionage thriller franchise gets a full buddy comedy treatment in the tax season extension surprise sure to please action fans. Gavin O’Connor ups the ante from its predecessor for an epic sequel, The Accountant 2 (A-), by maximizing the intrigue and world building of his protagonist Christian Wolff’s (Ben Affleck, never better) savant status as an advantage in all aspects of his life and pairing this idiosyncratic character primarily with his lethal bad boy brother Brax (the absolutely fantastic John Bernthal). This time the stakes are higher and involve timely topics such as human trafficking. The film starts with some extremely larger than life environments showcasing cunning and comedy – namely a bingo parlor turned bloodbath and a romance convention augmented by algorithms. Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina, played again with aplomb by Cynthia Addai-Robinson, is a convener of the odd couple siblings to get to the heart of a murder mystery, and Daniella Pineda is dynamite as a ruthless assassin. O’Connor wields both humor and high-stakes action with tremendous dexterity in this installment; and although the film loses a little momentum in the final act, it’s so successful in luring audiences to care deeply about the characters amidst the stunts and grandstanding. Giddy moments include manipulation of traffic lights and home computers and even honkeytonk dance floors in this raucous romp with unexpected heart and verve. It’s much more gripping and fun than anyone could have anticipated. 

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As the titular star of Gavin O’Connor’s The Accountant (B), Ben Affleck’s character can’t start a puzzle without completing it. This curious protagonist, equal parts autistic auditor and stone cold killer, takes his cues less from Rain Man and more from John Wick, and much of the movie is an enigma wrapped in flashbacks and unexpected links about organizations and people embezzling one another. John Lithgow and Jean Smart are part of the riddle as c-suite siblings at a robotics company where Anna Kendrick’s character handles the finances. J.K. Simmons and Cynthia Addai-Robinson represent the treasury department on a mission to solve a money laundering mystery, and Jon Bernthal is a security company executive with a past. There are moments of droll humor and flashes of shocking violence as the story twists into shape. The story and tone start out a bit by the numbers, and ultimately the ledger gets rather fetching.