The Accountant (2016)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  7 / 10

  Another film based on a job title (seriously there are loads of these), The Accountant is about an autistic accountant who gets recommended to look into a company's records to find out where the money is going. Sounds like it would make a good drama, but instead the film is an action thriller where the accountant is also a mercenary where there is also shooting, killing, fighting and death. Firstly Ben Affleck proves that he is an action star as well as a dramatic actor and a director, the guy is completely versatile and that makes him extremely bankable within Hollywood. The stunts and fight choreography that he is able to do and the realism the film portrays is exciting and thrilling, that's all one can ask for in this type of film. It's a very similar style to recent action films such as John Wick and Jack Reacher. The fact that the main character is autistic does not actually provide any substance to the plot, in fact if you removed it the film would still play out the same. But the fact that it is included is important, as it is highlighting the awareness of autism and the fact that being different is not a problem. It makes the character relatable. So relatable that I myself was thinking that several traits of my OCD was being shown in the film, this brings out more investment towards the character. The twists and turns the plot takes is good, but the story itself is rather standard and not that particularly memorable. The script is ok with some good one liners, but again nothing memorable. The most unforgivable criticism that I can give is the waste of the supporting cast. When you get JK Simmons and Anna Kendrick and drop them halfway through the film, it's just a waste! They are talented and more inclusion of them would've made the film much better in my opinion. The lack of supporting characters means that there is no sense of danger for characters, this in turn means we are not drawn into the story as much which is a shame. Overall, The Accountant was a decent action thriller with a great focus on autism and brutal fight choreography, but the supporting cast were wasted and the story was fairly standard.

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