I’ll admit, I’m a gun guy who loves gun movies. Yes, that includes the far-fetched, unrealistic, action-fueled movies that make us say, “That’s not real!” The Accountant is another gun-fu movie that fits into my library of “John Wick” style movies.
Starring Ben Affleck and directed by Gavin O’Connor, both The Accountant and Accountant 2 blend firearms and hand-to-hand combat, and are perfect films for the everyday tactical junky.
If you like the movies Nobody and John Wick, there is a good chance you will love these movies. Just like Nobody and John Wick, I like the first Accountant better than Accountant 2. The sequels are great, but I feel like they just couldn’t quite get back to the authentic cinema that made them legendary.
But while I prefer the first movies the most, the sequels are well worth watching. Here is a rundown of the Accountant and Accountant 2.
The Accountant (2016)
Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is a mathematical savant with high-functioning autism. He operates as a freelance forensic accountant for dangerous criminal organizations. At the beginning of the movie, Wolff takes on a legitimate client, a robotics company with deep pockets. An internal accountant (Anna Kindrick) discovers a multi-million dollar discrepancy, prompting the hiring of Wolf.
Ben Affleck plays a great role as a quirky accountant with autism who doesn’t like to be around people and understands numbers like a mathematical genius. As he uncovers the accounting errors, he is quickly thanked for his service and asked to leave before tracing the errors to the source. For a perfectionist like Wolf, this throws off his rhythm and nearly causes a nervous breakdown.
While he continued to hide under the radar, the US Treasury Department is leading a team to find the mysterious account. But while agents are closing in on him, the robotics company attempts to have the internal accountant assassinated. Of course, you can see where this leads.
Wolf tries to save the female accountant and evade federal agents at the same time. This is when the gun-fu fun really begins.
The Guns and Gear
Wolff’s arsenal is a carefully curated selection that is fitting for his pragmatic approach to combat. He favors accuracy and stopping power.
The first gun Wolf uses in the movie is a Barrett M82A1 .50-caliber anti-materiel rifle. In one early scene, Wolf quickly does the math before making a 1-mile shot when practicing at a client’s farm. Of course, the math was easy; he’s an accountant…
And when it comes to handguns, Wolf uses a Para-Ordnance Black Ops 1911 chambered in .45 ACP. But just the gun isn’t cool enough for Christian Wolf; he also has a SilencerCo Osprey 45 silencer attached to it.
As the movie unfolds, you get to see a lot of other firearms, including some AR-15 variants and an assortment of handguns.
the gun handling
Overall, the gun handling isn’t that bad (don’t forget it’s a Hollywood movie). You get a few “John Wick” scenes that combine the use of a handgun and hand-to-hand combat, which is always fun to watch. While this type of fighting isn’t that realistic, it requires a great deal of choreography, which I respect from a movie standpoint.
Like all gun-fu movies, the sequence of events leads to a big gun battle near the end. As you would expect, there is a dose of superhero drama sprinkled over the main actors, but it’s fun to watch. You get a good gun battle involving rifles, handguns, and even a stun grenade stuffed into someone’s vest.
Main Actors
- Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff
- Anna Kendrick as Dana Cummings (the in-house accountant)
- J.K. Simmons as Ray King (Director of FinCEN)
- Jon Bernthal as Brax (the leader of the assassination squad)
- Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Marybeth Medina (Treasury agent)
The Accountant 2 (2025)
Ok, so I already mentioned that I like the first movie just a little bit better. But that doesn’t mean the second movie isn’t good. In fact, it has more gun fighting than the first one. I feel like Affleck lost a little bit of the quirky accountant vibe in this movie, but he still did a great job.
The sequel picks up nine years after the first movie, so things have changed just a little. Treasury Director Ray King (J.K. Simmons) is murdered, and leaves a cryptic message, “Find the Accountant,” scrawled on his arm. Deputy Director Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is forced to contact Christian Wolff.
The investigation leads Wolff to an 8-year-old cold case involving a kidnapped Salvadoran family and a massive human trafficking cartel. Realizing the scale threat, Christian enlists the help of his estranged, yet highly lethal, brother, Brax (Jon Bernthal). This leads them to a cross-border rescue mission that involves yet another big gun-fu showdown.
Guns and Gear
In The Accountant 2, we get to see the distinct fighting styles of the two brothers clash and then combine. We also get to see a lot more tactical gear during the showdown at the end.
Some of the guns include a Sig Sauer P226R, a TTI Sand Viper, a B&T SPR300, and an assortment of AR-15s and AK-47s.
I didn’t count shots vs magazine capacity this time, but they do regular mag changes, which is a good thing. Even for Hollywood drama, it’s hard to watch a movie when a machine gun or handgun shoots 100 rounds at a time…
They wear tactical vests with extra mags, and both carry a rifle and handgun. Most of the gun handling was decent for a movie, but there was still plenty of made-up action to go along with it. If you just like gun scenes, this one isn’t bad at all.
Hollywood Action vs. Reality
While the action is relentless, the sequel also leans harder into the “Hollywood Action” category. The use of Christian’s support network to hack the planet and control drones borders on superhero-level capability. This is a convenient, but unrealistic, solution to complex logistical problems.
The climax involves the two brothers taking on an overwhelming number of cartel members in an open environment. All this while the enemies are displaying classic “Stormtrooper Academy Syndrome,” firing dozens of rounds without hitting their target. And of course, every one of Christian’s and Brax’s shots finds a vital target.
Main Actors
- Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff
- Jon Bernthal as Braxton “Brax” Wolff
- Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Marybeth Medina
- J.K. Simmons as Ray King (appearing in flashback/opening)
Movies are made to entertain us, so there has to be some next-level action, or we would complain about that instead. I don’t expect movies to be realistic, but it’s nice when they show the actors making some effort in learning gun manipulation and handling. For me, this movie fits right in with the John Wick and Nobody movies.
So, if you haven’t seen these two movies, add them to your list and give them a try the next time you’re in the gun-fu mood.
