The Accountant (2016)

[spaceytraci1208]

Ben Affleck is CPA with some dangerous clientele, some impressive skills and a developmental disorder that sometimes presents itself in disturbing ways.

I enjoyed the HELL out of this movie! The storyline was intriguing, the action was actually exciting, and the reveals/plot-twists were satisfying. Bravo! 

[AimingforYoko]

It was pretty good, much like Emily Blunt didn't overplay her character's drunkeness in The Girl From The Train, Ben Affleck did not overplay his character's autism.

I did not figure out that

Spoiler

Jon Bernthal was the brother until Lamar referred to Christian as a "freak" and he got a weird look on his face.

[spaceytraci1208]

7 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

 

I did not figure out that

  Reveal hidden contents

Jon Bernthal was the brother until Lamar referred to Christian as a "freak" and he got a weird look on his face.

My sister figured it out around that same scene and we definitely had an "Ohshitohshitohshit" moment lol. 

I was excited when I figured out 

Spoiler

The girl Chris knew from the clinic who lives there full-time was the "British lady" on the phone

[Chaos Theory]

I liked it.  I figured out a bunch of the reveals a few minutes before they were aired.   They weren't super obvious and yet they weren't head scratching WTF either.    I thought overall it was very good story as for as mystery action thrillers go.  These are in my wheelhouse so I enjoy them when they are good and I thought this one did its job having all the storylines circle around each other nicely.    A movie I would recommend

Spoiler

The girl Chris knew from the clinic who lives there full-time was the "British lady" on the phone

Spoiler

That's Alison Wright from "The Americans"  by the way.   Affleck is a fan and wanted to meet her/put her in the movie.  If there is a 2nd movie I would love to have her have a bigger part because she is a fabulous actress.

 

<---Edited to add:  if you told me this has been a book I wouldn't be surprised in that there were several things that I thought could have been fleshed out a bit.  That is the one negative I could see in the movie.  It wasn't bad per se.  Actually I say it was an incredibly well done movie but there were several things I would have actually fleshed out.   There were alot of peoples motivations that were only touched upon and relationships that could have been fleshed out a bit better.  That being said I would still recommend this movie to anyone who likes thrillers and actions genres,  Hell anyone who likes Affleck.  

Edited October 16, 2016 by Chaos Theory
Added to post

[Shannon L.]

I really liked this a lot.  From the previews, I knew that it looked like a good movie, but wasn't so sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. 

The thought of the twist* crossed my mind, but I wasn't so sure until the look on his face when he was watching on the monitors.  My son, though, who is excellent at guessing these things, had it figured out immediately (not that it kept him from enjoying the movie--he loved it). 

3 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

There were alot of peoples motivations that were only touched upon and relationships that could have been fleshed out a bit better.

Part of me wishes they'd have explained a bit more of his friendship with the man's daughter, yet at the same time, by not doing it, it made the end that much more fun.  I'd completely forgotten about it by then and was afraid that the scene was about a "the more you know" moment.  To be clear, I have less of a problem with those moments than many people do, yet it would have seemed off in this movie if they hadn't gone that one extra step. 

I had a feeling that Dana got the Pollack.  I'm so glad she did.  I loved the way they wrote them, although, I was kind of hoping that he'd at least have said something like "I bet you looked pretty" when she told him about the dress, simply because he'd stated that he wanted to be able to relate to people better.  But, maybe he was afraid that would have opened a door for her that he didn't intend on opening. 

*Just a Board Rules question:  I thought that once a movie opened, we could dispense with the spoiler tags?

[Athena]

33 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

I thought that once a movie opened, we could dispense with the spoiler tags?

This is correct. No spoilers are necessary in a movie's thread once it is widely released.

[thuganomics85]

This seems to be one of those movies were I find myself not agreeing with the critics.  It hasn't been getting salvaged, but the general reviews seem to be negative, and I actually enjoyed it a good bit.  Sure, it had plenty of preposterous and far-fetched moments, but no more then a lot of action movies out there.  And while they had a lot of storylines and plots going on, I didn't find the film confusing, and I thought it all came together alright, even if somewhat predictable and pact.  I knew Lamar was behind the embezzlement, because John Lithgow wouldn't be in a nothing role, and then when I saw them focusing on a brother and I figured he was either going to end up dead or Jon Bernthal's character.  Still, I enjoyed the twists and turns.

I know Ben Affleck kind of has a limited range, but I thought he was good here, and I think his limits helped him not overplay Christian's autism, and it felt more authentic (well, authentic for a film where he can not only solve complicated math problems, but equally dispatch henchmen with ease), and less like Oscar-bait.  Although, I did enjoy one review I read where is said that Ben seem to almost be emulating his buddy, Matt Damon's, past roles, with all of his action scenes having a Jason Bourne feel and all the math solving was similar to Will Hunting in Good Will Hunting.

Liked the Treasury stuff, with J.K. Simmons being his normal awesome self and Cynthia Addai-Robinson doing a pretty good job in her first big movie (I think she's mainly done just television, like Arrow and Spartacus.)  Bernthal was awesome as always, as was Lithgow.  Didn't know Jean Smart would be showing up too, so that was fun.

Anna Kendrick was charming as always, but while she and Ben worked well enough together, them taking it into a kind of romantic direction was a bit off, because not only is their the normal 13 year age difference between them, but Anna still looks like she got be in her twenties, so it felt like the age gap was a bit too much.  Wished they went for a more sibling-like relationship instead, although I guess that might have taken away from the big brothers' twist later on.

Fun how many actors in comic book movies or shows were in this.  When Christian and Brax began throwing it down, I just thought how this was the closest we will ever get to Batman vs. The Punisher!

Gavin O'Connor doesn't seem to do many movies, but when he does, I attend to enjoy them like this, Miracle, and especially Warrior, with Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton, which was actually my favorite film of that year, despite not really caring about MMA fighting.

Edited October 17, 2016 by thuganomics85

[Proclone]

I enjoyed the hell out of this movie.  Perhaps I'm in the minority but I've always liked Ben Affleck as an actor.  I think that he often in the past didn't pick the greatest movies or the best roles, but even in bad movies, I've never sat there and thought he was the reason the movie sucked.  I thought he was really good in this.  He was very believable as someone on the spectrum.   I also thought the action was great.  The action scene were really well done and tense and they didn't feel like, "it's been a few minutes better put and action scene in."  This probably will get compared to the Bourne movies, but you know what?  I enjoyed this a hell of a lot more than I enjoyed Jason Bourne.

I also really liked Anna Kendrick (to be honest there hasn't really been anything I haven't liked her in).  I also loved while she didn't suddenly turn into a superhero when the henchman came to kill her, she also wasn't completely useless.  She hit the guy with the burner and used the toilet cover to smash the guys hand.  She even got into (what I would guess was) the cast iron tub when the guy shot through the door.  Basically her reaction to that entire scene was believable without making her look stupid, which I appreciate because quite often movies tend to go to either extreme.  Either the woman turns into Xena or she becomes completely useless idiot.  I thought she and Christian were cute together.  I did mind the age gap between them as much as might given that Christian (or whatever his real name was) had the emotional maturity of someone younger than he actually was.  I also liked kind of liked how the scene of them on the couch was framed.  Despite Affleck being what looks like two feet taller than Kendrick normally, in that scene she's actually taller than him while sitting on the couch which is rather symbolic of her having power over him.

I actually really could have lived without the Treasury Department subplot.  It didn't really give us any information that we didn't already know (or could have figured out) until J.K. Simmons' info-dump towards the end.  I think that all the info he gave probably could have been revealed in different more interesting way.  And while I enjoy Simmons and the actress playing the Medina was fine, I just couldn't help but thinking I'd rather be watching what Affleck's character is doing instead of watching them.  But this becomes a fairly minor quibble overall.

I really liked the chemistry between the brothers at the end.  They only really have that one scene together, but totally bought that they were brothers.  I also liked watching Lithgow morph from fatherly figure to basically the character he played in Cliffhanger.  He's fun when he's the villain, although I could have stood to have him yelling "WHAT'S HAPPENING?" a few less times.  That began to grate.  

This was just a thoroughly enjoyable movie for me.  It had good action, interesting characters with good performances from their actors and even quite a bit of humor thrown in.

[Shannon L.]

What do you suppose he was doing with his legs while listening to loud music?  At first, I thought that after a day of having to always be thinking about the best way to respond to people in order to cope in the real world (which must be exhausting), it was a way of getting all that anxiety out of his system, but, later, when he started abusing himself, I wondered if maybe it was a way of punishing himself for getting into situations where having to kill people was a necessity. 

[spaceytraci1208]

20 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

What do you suppose he was doing with his legs while listening to loud music?  At first, I thought that after a day of having to always be thinking about the best way to respond to people in order to cope in the real world (which must be exhausting), it was a way of getting all that anxiety out of his system, but, later, when he started abusing himself, I wondered if maybe it was a way of punishing himself for getting into situations where having to kill people was a necessity. 

I thought when he started hitting himself, it was all tied back to being unable to finish the audit (like when he got upset in the beginning as a kid over the one missing puzzle piece). It disturbed his routine 

[Chaos Theory]

1 hour ago, Shannon L. said:

What do you suppose he was doing with his legs while listening to loud music?  At first, I thought that after a day of having to always be thinking about the best way to respond to people in order to cope in the real world (which must be exhausting), it was a way of getting all that anxiety out of his system, but, later, when he started abusing himself, I wondered if maybe it was a way of punishing himself for getting into situations where having to kill people was a necessity. 

I might be wrong but I think it goes back to the father and the doctor.  When the doctor said children with Aspergers need quiet safe places the father said he was going to emerse his son in loud places with lots of contact.  I think the loud noise, flashing lights and rubbing of his legs was a continuation of that.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[Proclone]

6 hours ago, spaceytraci1208 said:

I thought when he started hitting himself, it was all tied back to being unable to finish the audit (like when he got upset in the beginning as a kid over the one missing puzzle piece). It disturbed his routine 

The second scene of him completely freaking out and beating himself with the stick I'm sure was a reaction to not being able to finish the puzzle of who took the money, but the flashing light and loud music seemed to be an everyday thing for him.  If you noticed it was always from 9:40 until 10:01, then he took his meds (one would assume some sort of anti-anxiety med) and went to bed.

 

6 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I might be wrong but I think it goes back to the father and the doctor.  When the doctor said children with Aspergers need quiet safe places the father said he was going to emerse his son in loud places with lots of contact.  I think the loud noise, flashing lights and rubbing of his legs was a continuation of that.

That's what I assumed as well.  His father said something like, if bright lights and loud noises are a problem he needs more of them not less (paraphrasing).  I'm assuming he father started it and Christian continued it as part of his routine. The rubbing the stick over his shins could have also been a way to toughen them. I've heard of Muay Thai fighters do something similar.  It causes microfractures in the bone, and when the microfractures heal the bone is stronger. The second scene of him completely freaking out and beating himself with the stick I'm sure was a reaction to not 

[Silver Raven]

Lots of interesting things about this movie.  The father being a secret operative with a fake name, never finding out Affleck's real name, the girl with the computer.  I figured that Braxton was the brother from the first scene, but at first, I thought they were working together.  I would love to see a sequel, where they actually do work together.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie, it was much better than I expected it to be.  Lots of great actors in it, and a script that kept my interest throughout.

[Silver Raven]

Jake Presley, the kid who plays young Braxton, is a martial arts expert.

http://www.centurymartialarts.com/teampaulmitchell/jpresley

The kid who plays young Chris, Seth Lee, is also a martial artist, and he and Jake Presley competed against each other in the past.

He has his own YouTube channel, and wrote, produced, and directed this film:

Edited October 29, 2016 by Silver Raven

[Empress1]

On 10/16/2016 at 8:49 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Anna Kendrick was charming as always, but while she and Ben worked well enough together, them taking it into a kind of romantic direction was a bit off, because not only is their the normal 13 year age difference between them, but Anna still looks like she got be in her twenties, so it felt like the age gap was a bit too much.  Wished they went for a more sibling-like relationship instead, although I guess that might have taken away from the big brothers' twist later on.

The age difference didn't bother me, but you're right - Anna Kendrick looks like a kid (she's totally believable in the Pitch Perfect franchise as a college student), particularly in the scene in the hotel when she was in jeans and Chucks, so the dynamic was off for me. Ben Affleck looks like the grown man of 44 that he is (and that's a compliment), so he almost looked like her father. (I've had a similar thought about Olivier Sarkozy and whichever Olsen twin he's married to. They're around 15 years apart, I think, but he looks older than his age and she looks younger, so they look like father and daughter.) That was compounded by their size difference. Ben Affleck is 6'4" and Anna Kendrick looks to be 5'2" tops. (I don't typically get put out by age differences because I've had relationships with older men before. However, as a tall woman who a) loves tall men and b) bloomed early so was taller than all the boys in her class for years, I have an automatic "no fair, you should stick to dudes your own size!" reaction when I see tall men with short women.)

I love a man in a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. When Christian set out his markers and rolled up his sleeves to get to work, that was hot.

This was a different movie than I was expecting, with more twists and turns. I didn't pick up on the brother relationship until very late, and I thought the "Siri" twist was cool too. I enjoy J.K Simmons (I'm unfamiliar with the woman who played the young analyst), but I wasn't that interested in his back story.

[ribboninthesky1]

This film was nothing like I expected.  I thought it was just about some dude on the spectrum with genius forensic accounting skills.  I expected something like The Pelican Brief.  I didn't expect the level of violence, and there were a few times I wondered, "What the fuck am I watching?" But not in a bad way.

I also didn't know Cynthia Addai-Robinson was in this, and I found myself hoping that she and Affleck's character would intersect at some point.  They both had some fucked up childhoods.  

Didn't really care about Anna Kendrick's character besides the apartment scene.  As already mentioned, her practical, self-preservationist reactions without turning into an Alias-clone or a whimpering victim were appreciated.  I'm not sure there were any romantic feelings on Affleck's part towards her character - she was one of the few people he connected with, and he protected her just like he protected that farmer and his wife. 

If any film deserves a sequel, this one does.  Or heck, maybe even a prequel.  

And listen, I probably wasn't supposed to laugh, but when Affleck shot Lithgow, and had the audacity to look sheepish and apologize to his brother about it, I was rolling. There were a number of funny moments like that. 

ETA: 

Random observation - I didn't realize Lithgow was that tall.  There's a scene where he and Affleck are walking down the hall, and he seemed to have a couple of inches on him. Might have been camera angles, but still.  

Edited January 11, 2017 by ribboninthesky1

[Athena]

13 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

Random observation - I didn't realize Lithgow was that tall.  There's a scene where he and Affleck are walking down the hall, and he seemed to have a couple of inches on him. Might have been camera angles, but still.  

Watched Lithgow on Third Rock and other things and he is very tall probably about 6'3"ish. I'm not sure if he has two inches on Affleck, but not surprised that he is even a bit taller than Affleck.

[piequinn35]

Am I the only one who didn't figure out that Shane is Ben's bro and the other autistic girl is The Voice.

[ribboninthesky1]

I found the brothers' relationship/reunion to be the weakest aspect of the film.  Most of the twists I could roll with, but I kept asking myself, "If Chris knew where Braxton was, as he said, then why wouldn't he have known he did private security? And why was he cool with his brother spearheading Dana's murder?" Plus, for me, the film did more telling than showing about their childhood relationship.  Braxton being around isn't the same thing as being close. I don't think we saw them interact in any fashion as children. 

[Mark Webb]

On 1/18/2017 at 6:55 AM, ribboninthesky1 said:

I found the brothers' relationship/reunion to be the weakest aspect of the film.  Most of the twists I could roll with, but I kept asking myself, "If Chris knew where Braxton was, as he said, then why wouldn't he have known he did private security? And why was he cool with his brother spearheading Dana's murder?" Plus, for me, the film did more telling than showing about their childhood relationship.  Braxton being around isn't the same thing as being close. I don't think we saw them interact in any fashion as children. 

I agree with you.. The last part of the movie gave it away...

[bychance]

On 1/10/2017 at 11:08 PM, ribboninthesky1 said:

This film was nothing like I expected.  I thought it was just about some dude on the spectrum with genius forensic accounting skills.  I expected something like The Pelican Brief.  I didn't expect the level of violence, and there were a few times I wondered, "What the fuck am I watching?" But not in a bad way.

I also didn't know Cynthia Addai-Robinson was in this, and I found myself hoping that she and Affleck's character would intersect at some point.  They both had some fucked up childhoods.  

Didn't really care about Anna Kendrick's character besides the apartment scene.  As already mentioned, her practical, self-preservationist reactions without turning into an Alias-clone or a whimpering victim were appreciated.  I'm not sure there were any romantic feelings on Affleck's part towards her character - she was one of the few people he connected with, and he protected her just like he protected that farmer and his wife. 

If any film deserves a sequel, this one does.  Or heck, maybe even a prequel.  

And listen, I probably wasn't supposed to laugh, but when Affleck shot Lithgow, and had the audacity to look sheepish and apologize to his brother about it, I was rolling. There were a number of funny moments like that. 

ETA: 

Random observation - I didn't realize Lithgow was that tall.  There's a scene where he and Affleck are walking down the hall, and he seemed to have a couple of inches on him. Might have been camera angles, but still.  

I would definitely love a sequel. I would go so far as to say it has franchise potential--I much preferred Affleck as Christian Wolff than Batman.

I don't have many complaints but I did feel like it was kind of anti climatic given all that work she did, Marybeth never actually gets to meet The Accountant.

[Chaos Theory]

On 1/17/2017 at 7:34 PM, piequinn35 said:

Am I the only one who didn't figure out that Shane is Ben's bro and the other autistic girl is The Voice.

The autistic girl being the voice I figured out pretty early.  Shane being Ben's bro took longer but I did figure it out shortly before it was revealed.

[BitterApple]

It's funny because I just watched this tonight, and I figured out the exact opposite. I knew the security guy was Chris' brother right away, but didn't see the plot twist where the autistic girl was the Siri voice until it was revealed in the end. 

I'm surprised to read this got negative reviews from the critics. I thought it was overall an enjoyable movie. 

[Traveller519]

This was a really good movie, in my opinion. And not that far off something like Hell or High Water which I watched last week. I didn't get the reveal of the girl with Autism being his "handler" but Going into the House scene I'd figured Braxton was his brother, my other thought was that he was Jeffrey Tambor's son who had taken him out considering he had ties to the Gambino family when Medina was looking into him.

I'd thought it was ridiculous that King had managed to compile all this information on "The Accountant" but hadn't gotten a clear shot of his face in the surveillance photos, but the reveal basically tied that up.

As an accountant myself I was pretty stoked that the nomenclature held up. I would have enjoyed seeing them jump down that hole a bit more. But I did appreciate the side stories.

[raven]

On 2/12/2017 at 1:26 AM, BitterApple said:

I knew the security guy was Chris' brother right away, but didn't see the plot twist where the autistic girl was the Siri voice until it was revealed in the end. 

This was me as well - I pegged Jon Bernthal as the brother pretty quickly (especially when there was no mention of him at the mother's funeral) but was caught totally off guard with the autistic girl at the end.   It was interesting that the guy who ran the place told Christian's parents that he didn't like using labels (in 1989 I think it was), then at the end with the present day parents he was talking about the "autism spectrum". 

I thought this was a pretty entertaining movie that moved along quickly; I didn't know much about it so was pleasantly surprised. 

On 1/17/2017 at 7:55 PM, ribboninthesky1 said:

Braxton being around isn't the same thing as being close. I don't think we saw them interact in any fashion as children. 

I definitely got a protective vibe from Braxton - just the way he would glance at his brother (well, the child actors, anyway).   I would guess that Christian (or whatever his birth name was) would be difficult to connect with, but I can see Braxton looking out for him but always being angry at the father; blaming him for the mother leaving, for the way they grew up, etc.  and so he probably took off on his own when he was old enough.

I did laugh at the look Christian gave Braxton after shooting John Lithgow. 

[Chas411]

Brilliant movie save for two things:

As already said above the ending with the brothers was so so weak. Not so much the revelation as Bernthals overdramatic outburst. I'd expect tears/fighting maybe had he not been presented as so calm and collected both in childhood and as the hit man. The blubbering just didn't ring true to me at all.

Anna Kendrick was good in the movie but looked to young to carry off the romantic direction they were trying to take it in.

[methodwriter85]

2 hours ago, Chas411 said:

Brilliant movie save for two things:

As already said above the ending with the brothers was so so weak. Not so much the revelation as Bernthals overdramatic outburst. I'd expect tears/fighting maybe had he not been presented as so calm and collected both in childhood and as the hit man. The blubbering just didn't ring true to me at all.

Anna Kendrick was good in the movie but looked to young to carry off the romantic direction they were trying to take it in.

Jon Bernthal is really good at the kind of stuff and that's probably why Ben Affleck let him do it, but you're right. It didn't make sense for the character.

I thought that Anna's thing for Christian wasn't reciprocated. His feelings for her really had more of a little sister vibe.

Edited March 27, 2017 by methodwriter85

[Chas411]

5 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I thought that Anna's thing for Christian wasn't reciprocated. His feelings for her really had more of a little sister vibe.

It's possible but when he talked about how he wanted her to like the fancy hotel he picked for them to stay in I felt it represented an innocent childlike crush on his behalf.

[ribboninthesky1]

Yes, I think that's what they were going for, and yet I got the same vibe as methodwriter85.  

On 2/18/2017 at 7:18 PM, raven said:

I definitely got a protective vibe from Braxton - just the way he would glance at his brother (well, the child actors, anyway).   I would guess that Christian (or whatever his birth name was) would be difficult to connect with, but I can see Braxton looking out for him but always being angry at the father; blaming him for the mother leaving, for the way they grew up, etc.  and so he probably took off on his own when he was old enough.

A great way for the film to demonstate this would have been to show Braxton looking for the puzzle piece that Christian dropped instead the mother talking about their "closeness".  Or even trying to calm him down.  Something.  He just sat there watching his brother.  I guess mileage varies, but that didn't feel protective to me. The only time I perceived a protective vibe when he got out of the car to help Christian fight the boys who were bullying him. Even then, he looked to the father before doing so.    

[TobinAlbers]

5 minutes ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

The only time I perceived a protective vibe when he got out of the car to help Christian fight the boys who were bullying him. Even then, he looked to the father before doing so.    

I thought he was chomping at the bit  to go help his brother, but we also saw how their father was dead set on the boys taking care of their own business without needing any help - even from each other. Dad only gave the nod when Christian had already engaged in the fight (after much prodding) and then Braxton hauled ass out of the car as soon as his dad allowed him to. Braxton totally wanted to go with Christian from jump but Dad's mantra has been that Christian would have to be mentally prepared to go into situations alone and handle situations alone without any expectation of back-up coming to help him. He had to be able to deal with the world as it was if he was to survive. It's the Batman style of parenting and preparation.

Braxton's inclination was to help protect his brother which is why I thought it really hit him hard when Braxton just up and went off the grid after the whole situation with their mother's funeral. His father was dead and his brother in prison and then he was poof gone. A big part of his identity was as Braxton's protector and in his mind he failed on that score and was suddenly alone with no father or brother.

The

7 hours ago, Chas411 said:

I thought that Anna's thing for Christian wasn't reciprocated. His feelings for her really had more of a little sister vibe.

I thought both lines of feeling for Braxton could be interpreted. Because of his physical age, he seemed big brotherly protective but because of his emotional age there could've been a splash of a crush in there as well.  The scene of Christian literally taking as long as possible to close that door as he watched her sleep and let her go was well done in conveying some kind of deep feeling.

I hope they go back to this well for a sequel. It's an interesting world and group of characters they've set up. Perhaps if could be Affleck's John Wick.

[BetterButter]

Ben Affleck & Gavin O’Connor Back For ‘The Accountant’ Sequel

[Chaos Theory]

6 hours ago, BetterButter said:

Ben Affleck & Gavin O’Connor Back For ‘The Accountant’ Sequel

I really enjoyed the movie.  It was a fun action/Thriller which is my wheelhouse.  I like this kind of movie more then the superhero genre so I am really looking coward to a sequel.  I am curious if Alison Wright will be in the sequel.  

[GodsBeloved]

On 1/17/2017 at 7:34 PM, piequinn35 said:

Am I the only one who didn't figure out that Shane is Ben's bro and the other autistic girl is The Voice.

LOL I called Shane being the brother almost from that start but not who the voice was.

[Macbeth]

On 7/1/2017 at 11:29 AM, GodsBeloved said:

LOL I called Shane being the brother almost from that start but not who the voice was.

Me too - I thought Shane was working with Ben to take them down.  So it was a twist that they weren't working together.

No idea about Siri - she sounded like Rachel Weitz to me. 

I love Anna Kendrick and think she is really talented.  While her small stature and high voice makes it possible to play young roles - she is 32 years old and only 13 years younger than Ben.  The height difference adds to her looking like she could pass as Ben's child.

This is an ingenue role, and I hope she can continue to get roles as she ages.  That is a problem for most actresses not named Meryl.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Macbeth

[ohjoy]

I saw this movie via free rental over the weekend -- I knew next to nothing going in, but I really enjoyed, and would love to see a sequel. I caught on to the twists approximately 20 seconds before they were revealed in each case, but nothing was over the top for me. I didn't need most of the Treasury scenes (though I like both of the main actors there); I just kept wondering when we'd get back to Christian. I was just surprised to get so easily caught up in the movie; I watched it once and then immediately started it over, and then watched again one more time before my rental ran out, so I guess I really liked it.

 

On 3/27/2017 at 11:10 AM, ribboninthesky1 said:

Yes, I think that's what they were going for, and yet I got the same vibe as methodwriter85.  

A great way for the film to demonstate this would have been to show Braxton looking for the puzzle piece that Christian dropped instead the mother talking about their "closeness".  Or even trying to calm him down.  Something.  He just sat there watching his brother.  I guess mileage varies, but that didn't feel protective to me. The only time I perceived a protective vibe when he got out of the car to help Christian fight the boys who were bullying him. Even then, he looked to the father before doing so.    

He actually did begin to look around for the puzzle piece when Christian started freaking out; he just didn't get up from his seat to do so (the look his father gave him as he walked by just before kind of said to me that he was probably not allowed to). But I actually thought that he was the one who had found it at first until I realized the girl had gotten up.

It might be my bias toward overly protective brothers from absolutely brutal upbringings, but I thought there were several little moments that built up the brothers before the big reveal, much the way @raven described it. That said I'd love to see more. It'd be great if Jon Bernthal could be in the sequel.

 

On 1/10/2017 at 11:08 PM, ribboninthesky1 said:

And listen, I probably wasn't supposed to laugh, but when Affleck shot Lithgow, and had the audacity to look sheepish and apologize to his brother about it, I was rolling.

That was adorable, as was the short half-smile he gave when Braxton needled him a little about saying "I missed you too." (Like I said, I'm a sucker for tne brother stuff.)

[babs]

I "figured out" that the security guy was the brother way before most everyone else it seems - am I the only one who watched with CC on? I can see how it could have been missed but the security team guys called him Brax several times. I was surprised to like this movie since I definitely went in with preconceived notions about Ben Affleck playing a math genius. I like Ben but mostly as a loveable criminal type, like he played in that movie about bank heists (looked it up, The Town). Glad to see there will be a sequel!

[WritinMan]

On 1/17/2017 at 7:34 PM, piequinn35 said:

Am I the only one who didn't figure out that Shane is Ben's bro and the other autistic girl is The Voice.

No, I didn't either, and I'm glad. It was a nice surprise twist at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this, but it doesn't really need a sequel. Let it go guys....

[Anela]

I figured out the one guy was his brother, early on. As soon as he appeared. My dad did, too.

we really liked this movie. I'd heard good things, so we finally watched it a few weeks ago. 

[Ohwell]

I've got free HBO this weekend so I decided to watch this.  Maybe I'll give it another try, but I was just bored with it, maybe because Ben Affleck is the lead.  I have liked John Bernthal, Anna Kendrick and J.K. Simmons in other movies, but I thought this one was a waste of their talents.   I'll give it one  more shot since it's free.

Edited September 30, 2017 by Ohwell

[Joimiaroxeu]

I checked the DVD out from the library on a lark and surprisingly enjoyed it. I didn't figure out the twist with the brother or the voice until shortly before the movie made both situations clear. Glad to hear there will be a sequel and hope Brax and Chris will be working together in that one.

Also, not too long ago I saw another Ben Affleck movie called Live by Night. Pretty sure I recognized a set used in both films. It was the one where Chris killed all those gangsters and spared J.K. Simmons' character's life. There was a similar shootout involving gangsters in Live by Night and both movies were released in 2016.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Joimiaroxeu

[snarktini]

On 1/17/2017 at 4:34 PM, piequinn35 said:

Am I the only one who didn't figure out that Shane is Ben's bro and the other autistic girl is The Voice.

The brother clicked for me fairly early, but I didn't clue into the girl. In fact, I didn't even get it when it was revealed. I'm embarrassed to realize my thinking was so ableist I didn't register the reveal of her digital voice or even the guy saying she had a computer powerful enough to hack the Pentagon. Those clues sailed right over my head. Hours later, as I was falling asleep, the penny dropped. DUH.

I thought adult brother was poorly cast to match up with his young self, though. Didn't look anything alike. Actually I thought Affleck looked more like young Braxton than young Chris as well.

Their dad was a piece of work.

[Chaos Theory]

I guessed neither until fairly late in the movie but then I am fairly dense about twists.    

I am disappointed that this movie never generated a sequel while less enjoyable movies have.   

[PepSinger]

On 7/11/2020 at 8:06 AM, Chaos Theory said:

I guessed neither until fairly late in the movie but then I am fairly dense about twists.    

I am disappointed that this movie never generated a sequel while less enjoyable movies have.   

Yeah, I'll fully admit I didn't see either of those coming.

I would also like a sequel to this movie.