Starring: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Benthal, Jeffrey Tambor, John Lithgow and Cynthia Addai-Robinson. Written by Bill Dubuque, directed by Gavin O'Connor. Budget $44 million. 128 minutes minutes long.
In a surprising twist, particularly since the poster and the trailer seemed to imply that Ben Affleck played an autistic accountant who was also an assassin. This film is actually the day in the life story of an ordinary accountant, played by Ben Affleck, as he helps small businesses to file their taxes in time for the July 1st deadline. The highlight of the film arrives when Ben discovers that is red biro is out of ink and he has to go and find a shop with just 5 hours left before closing time.
Why the poster features a big gun is beyond me and while the trailer seems to suggest copious amounts of action is baffling too. Since Ben spends most of the movie neatly writing out columns of numbers and then studiously adding them up.
Nah, I'm just twisting yer melons.
This is the story of an high functioning autistic assassin who's also a forensic accountant who specialises in uncooking the books of organised crime syndicates in search of embezzlement who one day decides to take on a job in the real world for a bit of a change. He ends up investigating John Lithgow's tech company and unearthing a 60 million dollar fraud with the help of nerdish accountant, Anna Kendrick. After that a sinister private covert, black ops security firm lead by Jon Benthal is dispatched to clean house to hide the fraud before Lithgow's company goes public. Meanwhile, special investigator J.K Simmons and analyist Cynthia Addai-Robison are on a mission to discover who the mysterious accountant is. This all plays out in a very satisfying and entertaining way, as the film reveals the story of Affleck's past with his unusual father and lovingly loyal brother and his relationship with a criminally underused Jeffrey Tambor. It's also surprising to note at the end of the day that none of the characters in this film can be considered to be 'good guys'.
Jumping from his childhood, to adult-hood, via his father's unusual childrearing, this is an engrossing and ultimately silly action film that makes for a satisfying and entertaining thriller. The cast is strong, the plot is elaborate and enjoyable and the action meaty and solid. Sadly some of the action sequences are rendered almost unwatchable due to shaky cam and jarring editing.
Here's hoping this leads to a short series, if only to see Affleck and Jon Benthal's relationship develop further.
8/10
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