The Best Scene In The Accountant 2 Takes Full Advantage Of The Buddy Dynamic

This article contains spoilers for "The Accountant 2."

In the climax of "The Accountant," numbers and gun savant Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) has a brief heart to heart with his hitman for hire brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) ... after exchanging a few punches first. It's the first time they've seen one other in over a decade, with each going down different, yet similarly violent paths in life. John Lithgow's villainous Robotics CEO is there too, but is taken out pretty easily because he's getting in the way of brother bonding time — and that's not cool. Christian and Braxton part ways in the hopes that they'll be able to reconnect soon. It may have taken a decade, but a sequel, albeit a late one, would come to pass due to that first film being a consistent hit on streaming and VOD platforms.

"The Accountant 2" attempts to resurrect the series with a buddy movie rather than the straightlaced thriller aesthetic of the first movie. It's not a bad idea at all. /Film's Ryan Scott believed the chemistry between Affleck and Bernthal made for a better movie in his review. Having these two charismatic actors performing investigations and kicking butt side by side sounds great in concept, but the film is surprisingly an even bigger mess. "The Accountant" is by no means a great movie, but to its credit, the bizarre swings work enough because everyone is taking the idea of an autistic man being raised from childhood to dole out tax returns and bullets in equal measure are played relatively straight.

With "The Accountant 2," there's an attempt by director Gavin O'Connor and screenwriter Bill Dubuque to be more in on the joke, resulting in a sequel trapped in even greater conflicting tones. Nothing says an odd couple buddy adventure like a dour and weirdly convoluted human trafficking plot that involves the threat of children being loaded into a ditch for mass execution. It speaks to Affleck and Bernthal's chemistry that the film's best moments are when they sit down to talk about their relationship, completely divorced from the mission. They're few and far between, but one scene really takes advantage of their dynamic.

Earlier in the film, Christian and Braxton sit on some lawn chairs on top of the Airstream trailer and have that talk they've needed for a while. Braxton lets out some of his frustrations of not getting the answers he wants, so he suggests the pair go out drinking. A honky tonk country bar called The Cowboy Palace Saloon wouldn't be the first place you'd expect Christian to spend time, especially since he's dressed like an accountant with his button down shirt and khaki pants. The mood shifts when a sweet bar patron named Angie (Dominique Domingo) flirts with Christian, but he runs into similar issues presented at the beginning of the film, where he's rejected by a room of single women at a dating event despite all his research.

Braxton leaps into supportive big brother mode and encourages him to go after her. But things get interesting when Christian follows her out to the dance floor on his own accord. Although initially confused about how everyone is moving to the music, he's drawn to the mathematical rhythms of line dancing and hops into the fun as if he's been doing this forever. It's a sweet moment made even sweeter when Braxton cheers him on from across the bar. "That's my big brother up there," he says. It's the first time we've really seen these two characters just hang out as siblings.

Like clockwork, some insecure cowjerk named Gerald (John Patrick Jordan) confronts Christian after sharing a dance with Angie. The best part is that he doesn't even see it as a bother so much as the perfect invitation to let his younger brother in on the fun with the promise of a fight. "My brother wasn't having a good time tonight, but now he will," Christian says only mere seconds before the temperamental Braxton leaps from his seat to bring the beatdown. The freeze frame on Bernthal's face before it cuts to three men getting tossed out of windows gave me such a hard laugh.

The odd couple ride off into the night like cowboys laughing and having a good time about what just transpired. It's made all the better when Christian reveals that he secured Angie's digits in the process. It's the exact kind of bonding moment they both desperately needed. Everyone's having a great time and then the moment it cuts away back to the convoluted plot, all of the air in this movie just deflates. It really makes you wish Affleck and Bernthal actually committed to a better buddy movie.

"The Accountant 2" is now playing in theaters nationwide.