Starring Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick and helmed by Gavin O’Connor, ‘The Accountant’ is an invigorating action feature sprinkled with a courteous helping of thrills, mystery, and espionage. It revolves around an ingenious math expert, Christian Wolff, who is serving as a public accountant. His brilliance, however, has also been employed elsewhere, working freelance for some of the most dangerous criminal organizations. As the treasury department gets wind of his actions, he takes up the books of a legitimate organization. Yet, fending off his ensuing pursuers results in bodies piling up.
Upon its release in 2016, the film received favorable to mixed reviews. However, over the years, it has garnered a considerable fan following due to its intriguing combination of character traits, setting, performance, and narrative is quite refreshingly unique and sometimes unmatched. Despite its uniqueness, a surge of action thrillers and genius-oriented films has allowed the coexistence of a number of similar tropes in other various features. Here are our picks for movies like ‘The Accountant’ you’re bound to enjoy.
10. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
One of David Fincher’s most popular films, ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ is a tale of intertwined plot lines and uncovering deep and dark secrets. Based on Swedish writer Stieg Larsson’s 2005 novel, it follows Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a discredited journalist who is invited by a wealthy industrialist to write a biography of his family, the Vangers. In actuality, Blomkvist is tasked with looking into the happenings of his niece, who went missing 40 years ago, in exchange for clearing his name. He requests the assistance of proficient hacker Lisbeth Salander, and the duo sets out to solve this mysterious disappearance.
While ‘The Accountant’ is a showcase of Wolff’s intelligence, this movie depicts the ingenuity of Blomkvist’s investigative skills and Salander’s analytical prowess. Barring the action-oriented approach of the Ben Affleck feature, these two films share the same allure of mystery and uncovering dark secrets. Despite having completely different premises, tones, and narratives, both films appreciate the core values of digging up enigmas and depicting the affinity of intelligence with solitude.
9. Black and Blue (2019)
‘Black and Blue,’ directed by Deon Taylor, is an action thriller revolving around a novice police officer, Alicia. She falls into all sorts of trouble when she unknowingly captures a murder committed by a corrupt cop through her body cam. She can trust no one and joins forces with the only person in the Black community who can help. As both criminals and police converge on her whereabouts, she is forced to flee and survive.
While the film cannot be presented as a feature involving a genius, its intertwined premise, alluring conspiracy hooks, and well-written thriller components set it up for an exhilarating experience just like ‘The Accountant.’ The latter possesses as much intrigue as ‘Black and Blue,’ really grinding the phrase “no one can be trusted.” Both protagonists are perilously chased by various parties as they must fend for their lives. This film can be a great watch for those seeking another thrilling experience like ‘The Accountant.’
8. The Outfit (2022)
With actors like Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Dylan O’Brien, Johnny Flynn, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Simon Russell Beale driving the plot, Graham Moore’s ‘The Outfit’ seemingly went under the radar, but that has never meant it’s not worthy of a watch. The film centers around Leonard, a master English cutter who relocated to Chicago in 1956. He runs a seamster shop with his receptionist, making elegant suits for those who have money, including wealthy businessmen and mafia bosses. Despite staying away from the mafia’s matters, he is caught neck-deep in their affairs and must outfox them in order to survive.
This movie doesn’t have dashing elements of action like ‘The Accountant’ does, but its protagonists share similarities, as both are extraordinary tacticians. While the Ben Affleck film is more flashy, ‘The Outfit’ takes a more subtle route in depicting the brilliance of its lead. Their disposition is also quite alike, including advanced cognitive skills and an obsessive personality. Clubbed with their intriguing and mysterious outlooks, both films do justice to the thriller genre while planting a mastermind at the helm of it all.
7. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
The acclaimed ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ takes a more espionage route to a narrative that’s inspired by past realities. The Tomas Alfredson film, based on the bestseller novel of the same name by John le Carré, takes its viewers back to the early 1970s during the Cold War. The head of British Intelligence Control resigns after a terrible mishap of an operation. We’re introduced to espionage veteran George Smiley (Gary Oldman) who’s been compelled out of retirement and is tasked with the investigation of a suspected mole in the organization.
Smiley accepts, puts on his spy hat, and uncovers deep secrets previously hidden. This film is on this list for its intrigue and method of unveiling secrets, along with the proficiency of its protagonists. Smiley and Wolff, although appearing to be entirely dissimilar, are both sharp, intelligent, and brilliant. They both also lead very secretive lives, as the films explore their need for isolation and independence. Apart from the distinction of obvious tropes between the films, both present their viewers with an excellent tale of conspiracy and thrills.
6. The Mechanic (2011)
A master and student tale directed by Simon West, ‘The Mechanic’ has a number of genre tropes akin to ‘The Accountant’ that make action thrillers great. The film centers around hitman Arthur Bishop, who is on a quest for revenge for the murder of his mentor. His mission drastically changes when he’s approached by his mentor’s son, who requests that Bishop train him. Through this, a lethal partnership is born.
‘The Mechanic’ is on this list not only for the film’s commonalities in the action front but also for the way they portray exceptionally skilled characters. In this case, Bishop and Wolff are brilliant tacticians, albeit one leaning toward cognitive function and the other towards lethal actions. They both live secretive lives as they must and do not have many active social interactions. The films depict the price of brilliance as being associated with isolation and solitude.
5. Safe (2012)
Written and directed by Boaz Yakin, ‘Safe’ is an action thriller revolving around a young girl, Mei, and her guardian angel Luke Wright (Jason Statham). Mei is a virtuoso with numbers and has a photographic memory, that holds a numerical code of incredible value. Owing to this, she is pursued by a host of interested parties who are hunting for those digits. She is rescued by an ex-cage fighter named Luke Wright, who’s out looking for revenge against the same people.
At face value, both films are action-oriented and equipped with a bunch of thrills that define their core. Apart from that, both Mei and Wolff share a remarkable talent for numbers and are dangerously pursued by several parties. Wolff, in this instant, appears to be a combination of both Wright and Mei’s attributes, setting up the stage for a lone survivor scenario instead of a dual act. The two set out in search of answers, much like Wolff’s intentions. Because of its genre trope-based likenesses and the comparable direction of the story, ‘Safe’ can be a good watch for those who like ‘The Accountant.’
4. Lucy (2014)
‘Lucy,’ directed by Luc Besson, is a thriller that revolves around Lucy, who is inadvertently thrust into a drug deal that goes south. Through the process, she is injected with medications that give her superhuman abilities and uses these traits to get revenge on her wrongdoers. ‘Lucy’ and ‘The Accountant’ are both action-packed films deeply rooted in thrills featuring criminal activities and organizations; however, both protagonists share a few likenesses.
As Lucy is poisoned by the drugs, she gains extraordinary cognitive powers that turn her into a genius like ‘The Accountant,’ but with it also comes anti-social personality traits. Both movies are rooted in flashy fight scenes, but their actual similarities lie in both main characters and the way the films depict intelligence and its association with being independent.
3. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
‘A Beautiful Mind,’ directed by Ron Howard, is not a film to be included in an action movie list, but its comparable protagonist, John Nash, is incredibly similar to Christian Wolff. John Nash is a mathematical genius whose extraordinary findings garnered immense praise and international commendation early in his career. He was on his way to be one of the most renowned. However, his arrogance gets the better of him, which leads him on a painstaking journey of intrigue and self-discovery.
Wolff and Nash have plenty of things in common. As brilliant mathematicians possessing remarkable cognitive abilities, they’re both driven individuals and share parallels in the way the films depict their intelligence. Its association with independence and isolation plays an important role in why these two protagonists are so similar. They are exceptional but aren’t necessarily social people, which often leads to the circumstances that they fall into.
2. Nobody (2021)
Director Ilya Naishuller’s ‘Nobody’ has all the flair and brutality of a great action crime thriller in a package similarly encased to the one viewers will experience in ‘The Accountant.’ When a burglary takes place in a suburban home, the head of the household takes it up on his own to find the culprits. Gradually, the average family man unveils his true self, which leads him right into the crosshairs of the Russian mafia.
Hutch Mansell and Christian Wolff are secretive men who live extraordinary lives under average and unsuspecting covers. Mansell, while not as cognitively intelligent as Wolff, possesses a highly trained and unique skill set that can only be described as lethal, much like Wolff. Their abilities and intent are quite comparable and employed by only the most influential and powerful. Their capability to take down entire institutions is a feat on its own, but their individuality and independence above the law are what make them so similar.
1. The Killer (2023)
A David Fincher directorial, ‘The Killer’ is a film that explores unique skill sets and what happens when professionalism and personal affairs intertwine. The film revolves around an elite assassin who is best described as solitary and meticulous. He is well-trained, sharp, and brilliant at what he does. However, in an unlikely turn of events, he misses his target and hence must face the consequences of doing so. The assassin now must fight against his employers and his own mental well-being as he sets out on a vengeful hunt. ‘The Killer’ and ‘The Accountant’ share numerous similarities when it comes to methodical leads who are brilliant in their own right.
The inclusion of solitude in both cases illustrates their social belonging perfectly and showcases why they like to avoid such interactions. Additionally, both lead characters have obsessive personalities and are incredibly specific about even the smallest matter. As a whole, the two films masterfully integrate ingenious lead characters that drive the narrative and serve as an exhibit of the reflections, intentions, and way they maneuver the most difficult situations. Apart from the obvious likenesses between the two films in genre, unraveling secrets, and lethal action, the core of it stands out as a deep dive into the mind of a genius.
Read More: Review: The Accountant is Out of Balance
