The Accountant

I finally checked-out this 2016 thriller on a recent flight, and it proved to be better than expected. I avoided it for a long time because, frankly, it sounded stupid. Some of my skepticism was real. A math-savant assassin with autism, played by Ben Affleck? I’m too used to seeing him as a superhero and/or misfit cop. There were moments when you believe his neurodivergent quirks and ticks, but other times where you can’t help but just see Ben Affleck. The same is true for Anna Kendrick. She’s so bubbly and extroverted it’s sometimes hard to buy her as an accounting genius/shut-in. But I admire risk, and casting against type could be a recipe for disaster. Nevertheless, the story intrigues, the action is taut, and the resolution satisfies. It’s trying to do something different with the assassin genre. That matters, and for that it deserves a few brownie points.