Short Attention Span Review: The Accountant (2016)

Short Attention Span Review: The Accountant (2016)

When Ben Affleck first hit my radar with witty fare like Good Will Hunting and his work with one Kevin Smith, I thought the dude was the bee's knees.  Then he became straight up dookie when he somehow morphed into Hollywood royalty (hello, Bennifer) and starred in a number of vapid flops that were as expensive as they were lackluster.  Like many, I had pretty much written the guy off, and then he hit us with his directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, in 2007 and followed that up with The Town and Argo, films that he directed and starred in.  I thought each of those films were terrific (and each one seemed to improve upon the last one) and I've enjoyed a lot of his recent acting gigs for other directors as well, to include his work as Batman for Zack Snyder.  The Accountant is his latest big winner in my eyes, and it showcases one of his best performances to date in a demanding part that is both physical and brainy with a wealth of complexity thrown in for good measure.  He is ably supported by a quality cast that includes Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, Jean Smart, and John Lithgow, among others, and director Gavin O'Connor makes the most of everyone's talents.  The Accountant is a joy to watch, but it weaves a complicated web and around the halfway point the viewer is apt to wonder how in the hell the picture is going to tie all these disparate threads together.  Fortunately, while some might find a few of the plot mechanisms to be a bit too convenient, I was thoroughly satisfied with the way everything came together in a gripping final reel.  The film is heavy on drama and suspense, and a bit light on action, though the action it depicts is both brutally effective and highly entertaining.  I would have to rate The Accountant as one of the most complete movies from 2016 that I have enjoyed, and I think it will appeal to lots of different audiences given its considerable depth and variety.

Final Grade: A

Ben Affleck anchors this unique drama/thriller hybrid that weaves a complicated web but manages to tie everything together in the riveting climax.

Robin Williams

Like many, I'm saddened by the loss of the immense talent who went by the name of Robin Williams.  Yesterday, Williams passed away at the age of 63.  When RVA Magazine reached out and asked me to do a Top 5 in memory of this comedic genius who had acting chops like Daniel Day-Lewis, I readily agreed.  It was an emotional experience to say the least; I'm not sure that I truly realized just how much I treasured Robin and his work until I sat down to write the story.  I've grown up with this man's art and I will most certainly remember him fondly. 

Here's my Top 5 Robin Williams Movies for those of you who are also experiencing some feels as we ponder his death.  My hope is that we can shift our focus to his work and all the joy he delivered to the world, for I'm pretty sure that's what he would want.  He lived to entertain and he was a master of his craft--therefore, even in death, he will provoke laughter and tears with his delirious comedy and his tremendous acting.  There will never be another like him, no one will argue that.

Yes, Robin Williams will be sorely missed, but his legacy lives on.  Let us celebrate him even as we mourn his departure.  

Ben as Bats?

For those of you who don't know, Ben Affleck has been cast to play Batman in Zack Snyder's next Superman film, which will apparently pit DC's most iconic heroes against one another.  This is drawing a lot of fire from the internet crowd, though some are backing the decision.  My initial reaction was to groan, but that's largely due to the fact that the move brought back memories of Daredevil, a film I'm still struggling to forget.

Having said that, many of the problems I have with Daredevil weren't Ben's fault, and even at that point he probably would have been a better choice for Bats than Marvel's horned hero.  I think it's fair to say that he has evolved, and currently, he probably has just the look WB was looking for.  They've been saying they want an older, wiser Batman, and Affleck is at a stage in his career where I think he fits that bill.

The notion of Batman and Superman throwing down in a major motion picture is pretty epic, though I do worry that this project is being rushed.  As long as they have a quality script, I think this movie might just deliver the goods.  Daredevil suffered from a lousy script and terrible direction, as well as a pair of awful revisionist takes on Bullseye and the Kingpin.  The fight scenes were terrible and there just wasn't a lot to like about the picture aside from a gripping opening and David Keith as Daredevil's pop.  I don't think the upcoming Batman vs. Superman throwdown will have those problems; Snyder is a visionary directory who always scores big when it comes to action scenes.

At first, I wasn't sure about Ben as Bats, but as long as there's a good script in the mix, I think this could wind up surprising a lot of people.

Note: The Town is one of the best thrillers to come down the pipe in the last several years, and the more I thought about this, the more Affleck's role in that feature shaped my opinion.  I was a big fan of Good Will Hunting once upon a when, and everything Affleck did for Kevin Smith was golden, but it's really The Town that has me thinking he could excel in this part.