STACK #250 August 2025

MOVIE FEATURE

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MOVIES THAT MEAN BUSINESS

The Beekeeper

The Bodyguard

GENRE: Action Thriller RUN TIME: 2h 12m

A CALCULATED RETURN

The Bricklayer

The Courier

The Driver

Ben Affleck is back in The Accountant 2 , a sequel that’s an equal. Words Glenn Cochrane

trail of clues. As they close in on Ray’s killer, they uncover a sinister criminal operation. “I always viewed Medina as the entry point for the audience,” says Cynthia Addai-Robinson. “Because she’s seeing all these things unfold around her and reacting in kind. “And for myself as an actor, I felt like I had also grown and it was a case of ‘Alright, I’m returning to a situation that’s familiar, I’m more comfortable, more confident’, and so that was really nice for me”. For Daniella Pineda, who has kicked butt in two Jurassic World movies, the opportunity to play a femme fatale type of character was all too appealing. “This was definitely next level,” she admits. “It’s not necessarily a character you see all the time, and there’s something compelling about

S TACK was invited to an exclusive press conference alongside stars Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, and director Gavin O’Connor to unpack their latest instalment and share behind the-scenes insights. Outside of the DC universe and a few cameo appearances, Ben Affleck hasn’t made any sequels, but the immediate legacy of The Accountant led him to reconsider. “The first one was successful and I was really proud of it, but it had a longer life in terms of the real-life feedback that I get from people. It was the one movie people would always mention when they’d come up to me. “And also, I love this character and I really enjoyed playing him. Gavin and I were both very much drawn to the idea of bringing Christian back and expanding on it because we both felt like there was a lot more to do”. For director Gavin O’Connor, the challenge of further exploring Christian’s story without rehashing the original movie was part of the appeal. “There were a lot of conversations with Bill in regard to certain DNA that was important to preserve,” he explains, referring to the franchise

Jon Bernthal and Ben Affleck

were a lot of left turns and trying to refill the tank in a very different way. “We didn’t want to just recycle the same thing we did in the first film, so it was a matter of how to recreate the character and put him on a different journey and then integrating his brother Brax, bringing Cynthia back, and we knew that the key to the ignition was to kill Ray so that it was personal for these characters.” Ray being J.K. Simmons's character of Raymond King, the former director of the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Bureau. It’s no spoiler that he is killed at the top of the movie - after all this is the catalyst for the story, not to mention that it was featured in the movie’s trailer. After Ray’s death at the hands of

seeing a predator do their thing. But, at the same time, I feel like there’s more to her. There’s more layers and she’s not just a stone-cold killer”. For Jon Bernthal, who's been kicking butt on screen for years, the new instalment allowed him to explore more drama and humanity while laying waste to bad guys. “You can’t lie in a fight, you know? And more than any director I’ve ever worked with, Gavin has a hunger to go back and really get into what makes these guys tick… And what’s so beautiful about this being a second film is that now we get to the crux of what’s really bothering both of them, especially Brax.

an unknown assassin, Treasury agent Medina (Addai-Robinson) seeks out Christian Wolff for help. Wolff enlists his volatile brother Drax (Bernthal), a fellow professional assassin, and together with assistance from Christian’s silent partner, they follow a

creator and writer Bill Dubuque. “Then there

• The Accountant 2 is out Aug 13

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

Novocaine No Pain, Hypnotic, The Bourne Identity, Without Remorse.

jbhifi.com.au

28 AUGUST 2025