The Accountant (2016)

Ben Affleck in The Accountant

Autism is a disorder that is characterized by social interaction and restricted and repetitive behavior, and while films do portray this, they also make every autistic character adept at mathematics.

The Accountant is no different. Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is an accountant, but also a deadly killing machine. He can calculate fifteen years' worth of business numbers overnight without the aid of anyone or anything. He can also take out an entire room of men with hardly a scratch.

Poster for The Accountant

As there is not much character development, Affleck is perfect for the role. Wolff hides his killer side job by having a small accounting office in a plain strip mall. We get glimpses into his past including the fact that his father never wanted any special treatment for his son. This has led him to grow up to be a tough assassin with a big, caring heart. He is autistic and kick-butt.

The Accountant doesn't make much sense if you think about it. J.K Simmons plays a CIA Agent and is highly underused, especially when there was no point to his role anyway. While it is a mindless action flick, it is entertaining.

Poster for The Accountant

Wolff's father is a horrible human being, but is somehow forgiven for the ultimate good he does for his son. Refusing treatment, Wolff's father makes his sons fight bullies and take an array of classes meant to toughen them up. Somehow this works and eventually Wolff grows up to be "normal". He loses everyone that matters to him and still he fights on.

Wolff is a lonely person, but then again aren't all action heroes? The story moves forward when Wolff is hired by the president of a company (John Lithgow) to figure out if someone has been stealing from their funds, but there are other subplots and most are unnecessary.

The Accountant is not original in any way, but if you want to be distracted for a couple of hours check it out.