Movies: The Accountant

(Drivebycuriosity) - Ben Affleck is a brand name. The Hollywood star earned a well deserved Oscar for directing & writing "Argo" and stared in strong movies like "Gone Girl", "The Town" and "State of Play". Ben Affleck stands for smart entertainment. I don´t remember seeing any stupid movie starring him.

So, his name lured me to watch the action thriller "The Accountant" (imdb). The actor impersonated the name-givjng accountant, a hyper-smart bookkeeper with autistic tendencies (Asperger Syndrom) who is also a perfect shooter and a master in martial arts in spite of his decent appearance. The US treasury department is hunting him, because the "acountant" is checking the books of powerful criminal organizations (this is a spoiler free blog, you can find a synopsis here wikipedia ).

Director Gavin O'Connor delivered an action thriller with intellectual components. Affleck`s character blends autistic issues with super hero qualities - a bit like "Rain Man meets James Bond". But the story is intelligently realized and fairly plausible.

Affleck acts calm & cool as you would expect from such a person. I also enjoyed watching Anna Kendrick even that her scope was constrained to being cute. I hope she will get bigger roles in the future. Jon Bernthal incarnated an interesting version of the usual villain. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey`s work - especially his plays with shades & dark colors - enhanced the fun.

"The Accountant" keeps my appetite for Ben Affleck films alive.