Entertainment
Jon Bernthal’s 132-Minute Thriller Is One of the Biggest Action Movies on Prime Video
Gavin O’Connor’s The Accountant explores the consequences of a numbers-savvy social recluse working as a shoddy, criminal accountant for crime groups as he suddenly takes on an over-the-table, legitimate client. Ben Affleck portrays the mathematics savant, Christian Wolff, as a Treasury agent, played by J. K Simmons, slowly unravels his seemingly foolproof operation. As heat rises and a million-dollar discrepancy in Wolff’s numbers is revealed, with his back against the wall, Christian will do just about anything to evade the authorities and uphold his double life. All the while, unbeknownst to Christian, his brother Brax, played by Jon Bernthal, is the primary muscle for his most lethal antagonist.
At its very best, The Accountant has been praised for its star-studded cast. Most notably, Ben Affleck’s authentic commitment to the role was particularly applauded. With that being said, some critics have pointed to the obvious plot bloating, overcomplicated narrative, and subpar predictability. Such is the typical experience of a big-budget action flick. The 2016 thriller today holds a mixed 53% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This could, in part, be due to a storyline controversy. Some have argued the film handles the neurodivergence of it’s leading man a bit clumsily, while others have sworn it’s simply a sincere, if not necessarily accurate, attempt. Even still, critics note the extremely gripping watch that was The Accountant.
O’Connor’s ‘The Accountant’ Goes All In Right Off The Bat
So, how does one turn a film centered around one of the more boring jobs on the market into something audiences would actually watch? Director Gavin O’conner certainly found a way to do it. The film’s opening gives one no time to breathe. A busy city street, shouting, dead bodies, the works. For such a gritty scene, it’s gorgeously shot, lots of contrast, light, artful filtering. Immediately gripping. Then, cut to the year 1989. In a stuffy, retro, home for the neurologically impaired, a soft-spoken doctor explains to a pair of concerned parents that their son would benefit from spending a summer at the institute. All the while he’s putting together a jig-saw puzzle in an extremely quick and novel fashion.
Present day, Christian is a run-down strip mall accountant. Behind the glowing screen of his computer he checks cameras displaying mysterious back alleys and vehicles. All the while a wholesome older couple at the end of their line sits across from him, looking for a little help. In a predictable but albeit good-guy move, he finds a simple backdoor, under the table, a way to dig themselves out of financial ruin. Perhaps alluding to the further wealth of knowledge Wolff has regarding not-so-legal loopholes.
Just because the audience can get their bearings, suddenly, now in DC, the chair of the Department of Treasury, Ray (J. K Simmons) discusses a suspect they’re sniffing out to a junior officer, played by Cynthia Addai Robinson. He describes this suspect as “Our accountant, an accountant, the accountant“, and thus it becomes very clear Christian is their guy. After some casual blackmail threats, Simmons assigns Robinson the duty of tracking him down, with a month to do it or her criminal past will be splashed across very public headlines. And thus the story is off to the races.
The Insane Streaming Success of ‘The Accountant’ And Where it’s Coming From
Evidently, there is a lot going on. This quality has been noted as the films greatest strength and weakness. Nevertheless, the recent streaming success cannot be ignored, especially considering the fact it was praised so highly it scored a sequel, The Accountant 2, just last year. The film sat comfortably at #9 on Prime Video’s charts, and grossed over 150 million dollars for the relatively low budget of 44 million dollars. Shockingly, after pulling 80 million viewers worldwide, at the time of its release, it ranked as the platform’s second most watched film of all time.
In summary, this film is widely considered to be a booming success. Additionally, its sequel had a similar huge triumph, both in its theatrical and streaming run. Released by Amazon MGM Studios, the film grossed over $100 million worldwide. Released by Amazon MGM Studios, the film grossed roughly $103 million worldwide against its $80 million production budget. The jury is still out regarding a third movie. However, audiences are already buzzing, impatiently awaiting the possibility.
- Release Date
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October 13, 2016
- Runtime
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128 minutes
- Director
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Gavin O’Connor
- Writers
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Bill Dubuque
- Producers
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Marty P. Ewing, Jamie Patricof, Lynette Howell Taylor, Steven Mnuchin
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