The Reel Rejects - THE ACCOUNTANT 2 (2025) MOVIE REVIEW!!

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Starting point is 00:01:34 Thank you to prep or for up and edit down these highlights. Also, Eric and Nerd Chronic. He's great. Okay. How do you guys feel fight over who goes first? I'd rather John go first person. Okay, let's go. Let's go.

Starting point is 00:01:49 Johnny, boy, you got your thoughts. Well, why he's always got to meet me who goes first, man? I show up here after all this time. And this is all you tell him, just go for it. That's my not very good John Burrfell impression. This was delightful. This was lovely. The first accountant, when we watched it, I remember being very pleasantly surprised and having a really great time with both the bone crunching, you know, awesome looking action, but also, yeah, like the elements of the story that really took us by surprise, you know, those things left a big impression.

Starting point is 00:02:19 And there was a fair amount of heart in that movie, too. But I think, you know, I think we're all going to kind of come together over the idea that this injected that much more heart in a way that felt, very graceful. Yeah. You know, I appreciate, you know, it's like this is a kind of story that we've seen a good amount of times, but I do appreciate in this moment in time where you have like, you got your Jack Reacher and you've got, you know, various crimes, episodic crime stories surrounding a particular character with a particular set of skills or whatever.

Starting point is 00:02:52 I really like what they've built here. This one does go a little bit more broad with some of the neurological implications and the tropeification of, you know, these neurodivergences and stuff. But, yeah, in terms of just like a fun and punchy action flick, it got that job done, it had a lot of character-based heart and humor that didn't feel like it was undercutting anything, and the stuff that was supposed to be harsh and, you know, upsetting was a bit upsetting and pretty harsh. So this felt like it was able to achieve the blend of tones that it wanted to.

Starting point is 00:03:28 And yeah, I would agree with your assessment that, you know, John Bernthal is in a lot of ways the show stealer, the scene stealer, but amid a cast and array of characters and performers who are all very able and engrossing to watch too. So I guess it's just additional credit to his, you know, efforts here that he, you know, is such a lovely, like sort of, you know, ball of sunshine in the middle of this despite his own struggles and the, you know, grim aspects of the. the plot. Yeah, I had a blast with this. Yeah, I mean, you want to go? You want me to go? Hey, I am the third edition to you guys. Okay. Well, listen, I really liked how, if you remember the first one, the dad taught them both how to fight. And I like how this movie highlighted, how similar they are, even though Ben Affleck deals with the neurodivergency, that they're both very lonely. they're both in life even though they met eight years ago and then they still haven't it really does have to do with like he you know ben afflis character is different but i like that they highlighted how lonely they both are they're both looking for a connection and then the way that they actually come together truly together without any words that brings them even closer is having is really going through battle doing what they did when they were young like with their dad which is really the last time that they were like together together besides like the last

Starting point is 00:05:00 movie um i just i love the how much comedy was in this one versus the last one it's very very different i'm surprised how much of a jump they took because the first one was really serious we're watching him like like i said metal music on a bat to his like skin um there's still some lighthearted this you know towards the end he gives the painting to the girl like there's still that like oh it's like it's sweet and airy but this one specifically makes you feel like his life is going to be different because now his brother is by his side which i really like it's it's almost like you end on such a a hopeful note even though they both can kick ass or both assassins and ideally we don't ever really have an issue with who they're going out to kill they're always

Starting point is 00:05:53 killing the bad guys which is great and I just I think I like the hopeful feeling towards the end even though the first one did the same but I think it's mostly a hopeful feeling because the brothers are now in the same place at the same time and

Starting point is 00:06:09 are going to continue that and that's what makes them the happiest and I find that very joyful what you got there you go ham right there's here right you talk and roll out the red carpet for you thank you thank you i have to be invited in i am a vampire in these reviews

Starting point is 00:06:27 yeah i speak uh yeah i agree i think you guys uh both made some really good points this one it focuses more on two people who are lonely in their own regard and are both looking for some form of connection and love whether that be through an animal or through a significant other some type of romance but really they're they need a repair a foundation deeper within which is their brotherly connection like the i love that uh exchange when they're on top of the rv when he's like did you miss me or is that is that because of your condition he's like i'm just me if i i haven't seen the first one since i saw it so i don't i really don't recall it other than oh wow block to us the brothers and beyond that i do remember it being a lot more serious and

Starting point is 00:07:18 exploring is it possible that a person with autism can actually pull all this off and you got the sense that Ben Affleck really studied and wanted to be respectful and I kind of feel like they threw sensitivity out the window on this one and replaced it with tone a tone that embraces a little bit more of the whims the absurdness of the plot of the first one like the first one I I remember feeling like they're trying to ride some type of balance where they can be this, like, cool action movie, but they need to be respectful of the subject matter. And this one, they seem like, let's just not really even point it out, like, to call it what he's diagnosed with, let it be a little bit, like, if you haven't seen the first, they never say what it is in this one. And if they haven't seen the first one, that kind of helps with taking in this experience because they don't tell you what it is. So you just chalk it up to some type of superpower that this guy has.

Starting point is 00:08:21 Because it was littered with people with superpowered brains, whether that be from how you were born or some type of brain trauma. And somehow they managed to pull it off where it could have been too goofy or it could have been too serious. And they managed to find a way where they grounded it in the emotional connection between Ben Apple. like in john bernthal like without it dealing so much within the complications of dealing with someone with this type of condition and how do you get close to someone like this uh john bernthal doesn't really discuss what that condition is he treats him as if he doesn't have it while getting frustrated when the condition comes out like the weird kid as he calls him or the weird one um so it

Starting point is 00:09:10 so i like how it just focuses on what it is what is their relationship like what what is it that they are missing from each other what and and they just draw on it that one is very distant while the other one's kind of needy instead of it being like he is distant because he has autism they he's like he's just a distant guy and and john bernthal is very much like i need to be validated and i'm i'm yearning for a connection even when they go about like their missions like i love the reintroduction to john bernthal uh when you you see him like stressed out over this uh dog conversation and after he kills a bunch of people he's trying to bond with this one woman and she won't have it. There's just like such a disconnect that you see that he's got his own

Starting point is 00:09:55 social shortcomings as well or he doesn't pick up on like the way how bed afflick fails to pick up on cues because of his condition. John Bernthal fails to pick up on cues just because of how because of how yeah and so they managed to find a way to like really humanize it and grounded whoever plays medina being the central figure i thought was good i think the one thing i could have used a little more action in the movie that that is probably something that i wish we got a bit more of as i think would like the takeaway the first one was for a lot of people who didn't even really enjoy that movie they would say like but the action is really good and i thought the action was good here but it didn't quite have like the fact

Starting point is 00:10:41 Finale is really good, but I do wish it did have that one scene that you're like, damn, that one action scene, though, was the scene you're really going to remember from this film. In terms of the action, like, it's interesting to walk away with thinking about the heart that this movie provided. And while I really liked the final action scene, I did feel that perhaps there could have been a little punch up. Like, I like the joke with the cowboy one, when they, like, when they burst out through the window. But the lack thereof that we don't get to see the fight. I miss that. Yeah. That was the one moment where I was like, that's funny, but I wanted to see that fight.

Starting point is 00:11:14 Me too. Yeah, but it's a really enjoyable movie. And for a film, a sequel like this to come out so much later, it's interesting how they, of where they chose to double down on. And I respect it. I respect quite a bit. And if anything, it probably makes, there might be a little bit limited by calling it the accountant too, because there'd probably be a bunch of people like myself who are like, well, I'm not really going to make the time to rewatch the first one. and I don't really recall it, so I'm just going to wait on watching this because it might sound like, oh, you need to revisit it,

Starting point is 00:11:46 but you really don't. You can watch this completely on its own. But Tara, what do you think about the, what's it called? What's that syndrome? Savant syndrome. Oh, Acquired Savant syndrome. Yeah, and the lady was named, what's her lady's there? God damn, like, and everything.

Starting point is 00:12:03 Is it Eden, Edith? Edith. Yeah. What did you think about her? I mean, I love all of that. I love, well, I do like. that they highlighted how the girl becomes an assassin because instead of her being post credits oh oh what or did it just start over no no no it's the okay oh i think it started over i think it started

Starting point is 00:12:30 over this is the beginning of the movie right yeah yeah yeah it tick talked us it's you guys think God, I don't remember things I did. I knew it was the beginning of the movie. Okay, the savant syndrome. I wish I had it. Not really. I like that they highlighted. I was going to say we can get a blunt instrument in here.

Starting point is 00:12:51 I like that they highlighted how it can come out in different ways. It did remind me of I have like a best friend who went through traumatic brain injury. And they do initially for quite a while. They're mean and they're aggressive. It is like an actual thing where she was not the same person was very rude and aggressive. And me and her girlfriend were always thinking like, is this the way it's going to be? And it's not. It gets, it does get better.

Starting point is 00:13:21 But I do like that they highlighted that that's how the, what was the blonde girl's name? Edith? That was, wait, why am I getting Edith confused with? There's Medina and then there's. Medina. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I do like that they highlighted Edith in being that that came out with the savant syndrome as well as language and stuff because when we look at Ben Affleck in the first one, you think the savant stuff is like him just being smart, right? Like a beautiful mind. Not the opposite of it. But what came out with her is basically what his dad taught him. So rival to rival, let's freaking go. Yeah. It's an interesting motif to use. It was, I think, on the heels of the first movie that does seem to go, you know, I went into that movie with the idea that, like, okay, this is going to be in line with a number of movies that attempt to use the trope of like, well, if you're autistic and you're into combat, you'll become this crazy super assassin. And I feel like that movie did more to earn its just existence that way, where I came out being like, I'm not going to take this as like the truth of how this works in real life.

Starting point is 00:14:34 but it feels plausible, and it feels like, as you pointed out, like they really cared to take the time to make it feel respectful. And that's an element here that I think is interesting, but it is something that does border on like, okay, we're getting kind of, it feels like we're playing faster and looser, like you looked up like, what's another sort of mental thing you could go through based on some kind of trauma or whatever that you could develop

Starting point is 00:14:59 and then you could become. Like, it's an interesting element of this character, and I liked having her as this sort of like clue slash involved party but also this sort of semi plotline unfolding on her own terms like I like it in greater context I think there's maybe a little bit the movie could have done to

Starting point is 00:15:20 I don't know I don't know if we needed some kind of sentimental wrap up with her or something like that but there's so much about her and her journey and the family that she lost and everything and the fact that she is like a totally new different person like i liked seeing her get her revenge there's maybe a little bit of i don't know tying up of that i think you could have done from a dramatic standpoint and from uh you know an entertainment standpoint i think there is that was when the movie was most slipping into when they're doing

Starting point is 00:15:49 that montage with the doctor and it's like you know pretty quickly after all this chess you know we learned that she's doing all this as combat and like that started to feel kind of like a superhero movie or something to me or like verging on something a little bit more broad a little less ground a little more sci-fi or something like that and it never broached fully into that territory but it does feel like they were like yeah we need to find some kind of mental phenomenon and then they looked through a book and then they found one and then they incorporated into the into the plot rather than it feeling like a natural thing begat by this world or the characters i think this movie embraces that it's a superhero world yeah i think they they

Starting point is 00:16:25 embrace a completely different side here yeah and i i think that's kind of the only thing you can do after the first one yeah because the whole i mean if you look if you think about a lot of classic superhero characters an accident happens they walk away with the superpower yeah and that's who she is an accident happens walks away with a superpower and uh yeah it's like very trope heavy this movie but the one part that it really did have me going was like oh shit they might kill off this medina character yeah that's not something that i saw that i was even theorizing or anticipating might actually occur and they did a really great job in that moment like that was actually a pretty good fight and it was it was really harrowing and i love i love the

Starting point is 00:17:06 direction that gabin o'connor took with this because as uh as much as this uh you know a little bit more straightforward and simple uh he had the really good handle on understanding that like the composition of the shots here like as john and i were like going tip for tat there you had a really good observation about how the wide allowed you to be investigative a lot of the time a lot times the characters would be centered frame with a lot of what's the terminology when there's when there's a lot of negative space or they like very much in the center or they do these like interesting profile shots where you have the main character off to the right or left side of the screen while there's this certain type of visual or action completely happening on the other side of frame but then

Starting point is 00:17:50 they would do close-ups to get you an intimacy of the characters but ultimately and so and so i think this one wanted to focus more on on the characters so and it's I think that that helps forgive a lot. We're a lot of fun. Weirdly, I thought it might be the opposite. Where the movie, the fun of the movie would happen in the action. And the fun of the movie actually happened in the dialogue more. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:18:13 The action scenes, you know? Yeah. Rejectation, fun fact for you guys. When we started this channel, we were actually trying to become critics in the newspaper. We just wanted to get noticed for that. So the last thing we ever expected was that this small. channel would turn into an actual career, a business that we own. So first off, thank you, because that's large part primarily thanks to you guys. Thank you. And with it being a business, a big part

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Starting point is 00:20:33 Because there is so much comedy that is put into this, which is why I was saying, oh, did they watch the bear in that episode with Jamie Lee Curtis and see John Bernthal and be like, let's make it like funny. Probably. They might have because he hasn't really been displayed until he was in the bear for that comedic side. And they really hit home with that. Like what you said, he really shines in this movie more so than Ben Affleck, which I don't think is a problem. I think it made it so much more fun.

Starting point is 00:21:04 But I do give the director a lot of credit for not making it seem freaking weird or like you're trying to force comedy in there. There's so many movies that don't know how to balance it that you're like, there's a character who makes a joke. And you're like, it's not funny. It doesn't make sense. Why would the character do it? Nobody's laughing. This one, I was truly laughing. the whole time, but I really didn't feel like they were trying to shove this brotherly love

Starting point is 00:21:28 comedic jokes down my throat. I thought it was just really natural, how they would actually behave. That is their actual life. John Bernthal would be yelling at him with the window rolled down, walking along the side of the car of like, why don't you understand? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's so funny, but he's like also, it's so freaking real. Yeah. So I think the writing in this and the description of what is going on when they're actually having the conversations, Like when he takes the sunblock, he throws it away. You see how happy he is and how pissed Ben Affleck is? That's like this movie is just about brothers.

Starting point is 00:22:01 And now finally they have a sibling who can like annoy the shit out of each other. And they miss that. You guarantee they miss that, which is why they have that conversation on the top of the airstream. Did you freaking miss me? Because yeah, it's just he's, it's different. He's not used to touch. Like even we all called out.

Starting point is 00:22:23 We're like, oh, wow, he's giving the kid a hug at the end. You know, that's a big move for him. It would be a big move for him to say thank you. He does. He does it before they go into freaking battle. Like, John finally gets what he wants. And I know I'm using actor's names, not the character's names. Forgive me.

Starting point is 00:22:41 But you get what I'm saying. John Bernthel finally gets what he wants. He gets that thank you before they go out into battle. And I just, I love, I love the script. And I'm really glad that someone, didn't write it off to go like I think this is like too funny like are you trying to make a joke it's it's not it's it's so real and I'm really glad they went with it this way yeah it feels like so please you go john please no it feels like the combo of a i'll pull up the page of a script

Starting point is 00:23:09 that's like tight enough but that allowed for the two of them as performers to like balance out like all the stuff between afflick and berthal feels really spontaneous yeah I mean what really got me interested in this movie was I would listen to interviews with them too and I just love hearing their chemistry in interviews and that chemistry carries over in a really cool way as not we're watching ben afflick and john berthal hang out we're watching these characters bond and hang out like that whole scene that's the thing is like as much as we didn't get that fight in that cowboy bar was that the cowboy bar the the cowboy palace the cowboy palace yeah it's in the valley apparently there's been to in the valley as much as we didn't get that fight the that whole scene there sequence is is one of my

Starting point is 00:23:51 favorites in the movie still yeah because of like they're back and forth when he's like so shocked about how that girl came up to him how he uses his mathematical ways to assess how to dance uh it's it was a really fun moment and i love how these brothers who are viewed as like criminals and killers which they are in the end they get to become heroes but what they really save is their brotherly friend yeah well that and i and i loved that like yeah two of my favorite moments were that and also I really loved how they, for this movie's purpose, introduced Ben Afflex, Chris's ability through the speed dating thing. I thought it was really, really funny that whole, like, they have to pull him aside and, like, give him a talking to about rigging the system, watching him rig the system to his advantage, but then just due to hisness, you know, that still doesn't help. And it's like a really charming setup to get you both invested in wanting to see him win and, I don't know, triumph, find some love.

Starting point is 00:24:49 you know, it puts him in a bit of an underdog scenario but also demonstrates his acumen in a big contrast to the first movie because I feel like they do that in the first one like with John Lithgow and like on the case or what appears to be the case. So like, I feel like yeah, it's nicely hewn

Starting point is 00:25:05 that way in terms of the spirit, the heart. Sure, sure. It's a good time. All right. Should we do some patron questions? Yep. So just so you know if you join Patreon, you get to send us questions, you get to see a schedule a week in advance so that you know it's coming up and then you can send us questions for the movies we're watching so join

Starting point is 00:25:22 patreon get your get your crap together all right so san rack uh has the question are there aspects of the first movie tone storytelling character development action sequences etc from the first film that you wish you had carried over more into the second and if so what and why well well well well i can go first i don't remember the first one but i do remember thinking the action was really cool and I always forgot a little bit more action in this movie. I would have liked maybe a little bit more of that serious tone of seeing where Ben Affleck's character is at now because I know that he's gotten better like when they're having the argument by the car.

Starting point is 00:26:08 He goes, I don't do that anymore. Like, meaning he's grown out of certain things because he's trained himself. I would have still really liked to see Ben Affleck going at it, training. himself still today on how to deal with him being neurodivergent being thrown into different scenarios especially even with dating we did get a good callback with a solomon grundy but i would have liked i think that that part of the storytelling that part of the the foundation and obviously we got a lot more action which like i'm a huge fan of so hell yeah i would i would want that too there's something i'm like massively craving i would agree with pretty much your guys assessments i think

Starting point is 00:26:47 having a really strong centerpiece action scene of some kind that isn't just good in the moment but that is like truly memorable in some way would be nice. I thought this was pretty meticulous and it's a little more loose than the first movie which I don't be grudget because of the tone

Starting point is 00:27:03 I guess maybe just a little bit more of that attention to I don't know the I feel like the first movie was surprisingly well rounded to me in terms of like the actions kicking the story feels intricate enough that I got to keep up and the characters are a bit ahead of me, but also I'm grasping it. This is a little bit more shotgun blast, and, you know, I feel like you maybe could have

Starting point is 00:27:27 balanced certain elements a little better, but there's nothing here that I'm, that is like a big detractor for me, I guess, yeah. Yeah, I'd agree. All right, Kev B, imagine you had a skill that made you stand out, but it also put you in some risky situations, kind of like Christian Wolf in the movie. how do you think you'd handle that would you set limits for yourself to stay safe or would you go all in and use your talent even if it meant attracting some trouble okay what's the skill though it's so broad you got to assign a skill yeah yeah i mean yeah if your if your skill is like you know i don't know you're like good at beating up children then you shouldn't do that you know it's not a superpower it's a skill right

Starting point is 00:28:14 skill yeah just a really intensely attenuated skill really well honed skill what i mean i guess i mean but but when we think about it in in real life we all kind of set instinctually limits for ourselves to stay safe that i still think even if you were like a savant had a major crazy skill you would probably know to balance it maybe not but my assumption would be i would do a little bit of bowl You go while out when you can when it's when it's needed. But I mean, that's a good question. I wish I could give you one or the other. Like, oh, I would stay safe or I would go all out.

Starting point is 00:28:55 Like, who cares? I think in normal life, we all kind of have to balance it. Okay. I think in my young, if I had Christian Wolf's abilities. Yes. In my younger years, I would not really try to stay safe. I would want to attract as much attention as possible to be validated. Sure.

Starting point is 00:29:18 Do you recognize to be seen? And I want attention, you know? So I know my younger nowadays, though, if I had the Christian wolf abilities, I think like being reserved and low-key is a thousand percent more of the path that I would do. But I would probably use it to have some type of like thriving business or something like that. like i was literally watching him go to town those kids go to town at one point who was who was going to town so someone was going to town

Starting point is 00:29:47 some point i was like damn they should make our thumbnails of like that deduction or like use the kind of skills to be like the harbor kids algorithmically should we be uploading on the channel yeah i would just use christian wolf's abilities to make this channel more successful what i would do

Starting point is 00:30:01 yeah yeah that's what i feel like mr beast is i think mr beast is like this crazy analytical guy who just sees like everything as digits and code he's able to like make this crazy YouTube channel metric life yeah so that's what I would use it for and I would definitely um show that off all selfish reasons got it yeah I would I would I would use my ability in like specifically calculated moments to like make it impression and then I would disappear again and not make it like I would use my ability sporadically yeah and in impressive fashion okay

Starting point is 00:30:35 you would want to be like the highlight of the party and then get the hell out of there yeah so that You still have enough of a shroud of, like, who was that guy? Yeah, mystery. But also like, but I'm never forget that. Yeah, yeah. You know. You need the mystery behind you. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:30:49 I like it. Well, thank you to patrons for helping, you know, make this more fun and send in those questions. We love you. Gee. Do we have any last thoughts before we tell these people, these account two people, farewell? Thank you for letting me join you guys. Yeah. I'm looking forward to another trio outing with the three of us.

Starting point is 00:31:09 I'm not. All right, guys, like, subscribe, comment. We love you so much. We will see you on the next one. class or at distance. And it's great. The Secretariat is more than letters and the chifes. It's a machine of avenor. Inscribertoe

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The Reel Rejects - THE ACCOUNTANT 2 (2025) MOVIE REVIEW!!

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