Movie - The Accountant

Note:  There may be some minor spoilers throughout, but I will keep them to a minimum.

     Since seeing the trailer for The Accountant a couple of months ago, I had some really high hopes going into the film.  First off, I am one of the people that actually like Ben Affleck, and doesn't think that he ruins everything he touches, so I can actually give an unbiased opinion of the movie, unlike a lot of the reviews that I have seen out there.  I thought the trailer was very well done, and hinted at a lot more going on than just a typical action movie, and the film does not disappoint as it is filmed the same way.  There are lots of things that are thrown at you that maybe seem insignificant at the time, but by the end of the movie, everything has its purpose and fits together almost perfectly.
     The movie follows Christopher Wolfe (Ben Affleck) as a very troubled accountant, who is paid a lot of money by some of the world's most dangerous criminals, to help fix their books so that their money isn't traceable.  Over the course of the movie, we get lots of flashbacks as to the pretty disturbing upbringing that has caused him to lead the life he does.  We also see that he has some mental issues that he is struggling with as a child, which explains some of his strange behavior as an adult.  During the course of the movie, we see him trying to deal with the life that he has chosen to lead, while also trying to form relationships with people, even though he has little to no social skills due to his mental problems.
     Ben Affleck gives a very good performance, pulling off the nuances that were necessary to get you to feel sympathetic towards the main character, and really seeing the struggles that he has day in and day out.  A lot of the talk I have heard is that he is very stoic and restrained through most of the movie, but that is a testament to the character he is trying to pull off, and it shouldn't be a knock on his acting.  As it is explained in the movie, he is very awkward around people, and so he has trained himself to be the way he is portrayed, to be able to function in society without standing out any more than he has to.
     The supporting cast is also very good, with the likes of Anna Kendrick (playing the sort of love interest of Chris Wolfe), J.K. Simmons (excellent as always as an agent trying to track down Mr. Wolfe), and John Lithgow (playing the head of the company that hires Mr. Wolfe to find the leak in his company).  The rest of the cast does well too, but I felt that Ben Affleck and J.K. Simmons stood out the most, turning in very solid performances that really pulled you into the movie.
     I have heard some other complaints that the writing is trying to do too much, or trying to stuff too much into the movie, causing it to be a bit confusing.  While I will agree that there is a lot going on, it all serves a purpose, as in Mr. Wolfe's world, everything has to add up, and so all the little clues and things that seem small at the time really play into the bigger picture and gave me a better appreciation for the movie after the credits were done rolling.  As me and my brother discussed the movie after it was over, we both saw all sorts of little things that we were able to talk about and point out to each other, where we were like, "Ah, yeah, that makes so much sense."  I really enjoy a movie more if it sticks with me afterwards, and this movie has done exactly that, as I keep thinking of things that happened throughout the movie that really added to the overall story of the movie.
     As I mentioned above, I went into this movie with high expectations, and I think that it exceeded everything I thought it would be.  I thought there was a good chance that the movie may fall apart a bit in the final act, but instead, everything came together and made the movie feel bigger than it was through the first part.  I wouldn't suggest you go into the movie thinking you are just watching a typical action movie.  You will need to pay attention and keep your wits about you as you watch it if you want to get the full feel of the movie by the time it is over.  If you go into it with that mindset, I think you are in for a real treat of a movie that is better than you are probably expecting.

My rating for the movie is 9/10