An Honest Review of the film The Accountant by Nerds of the Soundtable

PACING: Right off the back the pacing feels off. It feels like almost 50 mins goes by without anything of significance happening. Let me just point out the fact that I have NO problem with movies starting out slow IF the drama is being built in an effective way. This does not happen in this film. Another thing to note is that a lot of the important scenes seem oddly out of place or don’t fit where they have been placed.

CASTING: The thing about this movie is that the cast they have assembled would lead one to believe that this could potentially be an Oscar nominated film, yet again the talent gathered has been greatly wasted or underused. The star Ben Affleck does the best he can with the limitations of his character. He is playing a man with highly functioning Autism. Understandably in this type of role it would be hard to show great acting range, but something just didn’t seem to click. Anna Kendrick is playing the role of an accountant but her “awkward girl” shtick just comes across as grating. The film also doesn’t ever really give us a reason to care about her character other than a few awkward encounters with Affleck where it feels the actors are having competition on who can be the most cringe-y. Jeffrey Tambor of Arrested Development has very little screen time which is tragic because he has the capabilities to really breathe life into this film but they never give him the chance. John Lithgow who is a fantastic actor is used as a set piece in this film and his performance is truly forgettable.  The actress who plays Analyst Medina (Cynthia Addai- Robinson) is brought into the film in the oddest way and you wonder the whole time why she is there. She also has some pretty laughable acting moments (NOT in a good way). Lastly, JK Simmons who was one of the biggest draws to the film for myself, does the absolute best he can with what has been given to him. Sadly, it is not enough to elevate this film.
P.S: I completely forgot about Jon Bernthal until finished writing this entire review. This is laughable because he was the best part of this film even if he was playing a caricature of your typical bad guy.

PLOT: The plot for this movie is somewhat of a mess. From the get go it is very hard to follow and not due to complexity but rather to poor editing. They introduce characters with no reason and give us no information with which to form some type of relationship. Characters are introduced but then not mentioned again for what seems like hours. The story follows both Affleck’s character as well as Robinson’s character but it is so poorly done that it feels like you are watching two separate films (neither that you give a shit about). They put Affleck in the forefront of the film but all of the supporting characters feel more like extras than someone who is important to the plot of the film. The trailer is very deceiving and leads you to believe this is a drama/action film peppered with elements of international crime parts. None of that is true, I can’t go any further into it without spoiling the film, but all of the dangerous people they show him with never appear in the film. He never leaves Chicago….

Score: The music did not leave a lasting impression and it neither hindered or helped the film.

Cinematography: This element of the film was done was. Scene transition seamlessly and there is no jarring camera work. Heavy action scenes are smooth yet fast and satisfying.

Overall: I would say this film is worth the watch if you are like me and enjoy going to the cinema. Would I watch again? NO. would i purchase this film on Blu-Ray? NO. Would I listen if someone were watching it in another room? NO. If you are a fan of the actors in this film go and see it. Hey, you may even like it, because what the [frick] do I know about movies? 

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