Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Theater review. Possible spoilers. About the only thing wrong with this movie is the misdirection gleaned from the trailers. I expected a story of international intrigue where “the accountant” does some paperwork for unwashed political thugs but gets into trouble and has to defend himself. Wrongo. Well, kinda’. Ben Affleck plays the autistic Christian Wolff (Seth Lee as a boy) who was raised by his Army father (Robert C. Treveiler) and brother (Jake Presley). His mother couldn’t deal with Christian’s behavior and bailed on the family. Dear old dad taught the boys to be self-sufficient and to be there for each other. He also taught them close combat fighting and shooting. You know, to protect them from bullies. When we jump ahead, we find Christian in a small store-front accounting firm handling middling tax returns for a farmer. In return, Chris gets to use the land for target shooting. His favorite weapon is a Barrett M82A1M - .50 BMG rifle. And he’s very accurate from a mile away. So, while it is true that Chris gets involved in cooking the books for unsavory foreigners in return for cash and other valuables, he occasionally gets a legitimate gig which now includes a high end robotic manufacturer. One that makes various limbs and such. The company is headed by Lamar Black (John Lithgow) and COO, Rita Blackburn (Jean Smart). A young accountant in the firm, Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick) found a wrinkle in the books but can’t reconcile the cause. Chris is brought in to figure it out. He does which leads to fatal consequences for some of the company’s employees and puts Dana and himself in serious jeopardy. We soon learn that Chris is not only whip-smart with math but is equally good in hand-to-hand combat and advanced weaponry. The domestic thug in charge is a guy named Brax (Jon Bernthal). As the plot advances we learn how he is involved in the corporate shenanigans. The film is directed by Gavin O’Connor (“Warrior”) who has a good handle on many of the close in scenes as well the wider expanse of the action pieces, of which there are several. Afflect, as he has shown as Batman, can handle his action responsibilities with relish. The staid demeanor of Chris reflects his autism but never gets in the way of his skills. If anything it improves his focus. Sure the film occasionally goes off the rails in terms of credulity, but overall this is an entertaining actioner with a satisfactory conclusion that suggests more to come. Recommended.