“The Accountant” is a gloomy, action-packed and surprisingly comedic film. Despite being a movie about an accountant that has special skills, it plays like a spy film.

It has similarities to films like “Haywire” (2011) and the “Bourne” franchise. “The Accountant” comes from director Gavin O’Connor, who previously directed “Warrior” (2011). The film stars Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons and Jon Bernthal.

In “The Accountant,” Ben Affleck delivers a fine performance as Christian Wolff, an accountant who has a small practice in Illinois to cover-up his freelance accounting job working for illegal parties.

Early on in the movie, it is revealed that the U.S. Treasury Department is looking into Christian Wolff and starting an investigation into his freelance job. When Wolff is hired to investigate the books of a robotics company, his secret and inconspicuous life slowly comes crashing down.

O’Connor seems to have a desire to make “The Accountant” more than just a popcorn flick, but fails to do so. Not that being a popcorn flick is a bad thing, because it definitely works for “The Accountant.” The film is fun to watch and often humorous, but audiences should not expect too much out of it.

“The Accountant” will definitely not be an awards contender this year. It strives to make an emotional impact with viewers through Wolff’s life story, but at the end of the day is still a thrilling action movie. Even though O’Connor packs an emotional punch while audiences watch it, viewers will most likely remember it as an action film.

A nice surprise from “The Accountant” is its comedic undertones. At many times, the movie plays like a dark comedy. Its decision to implement comedy prevents it from becoming an overly dramatic action movie that viewers will feel is trying too hard.

The back and forth between Affleck and Kendrick is particularly enjoyable and makes the film feel much more lighthearted. “The Accountant” is much more fun than it might have been without the humor. Not to mention, it distances itself from other similar movies with its comedy.

With “The Accountant” it was very exciting to get a main protagonist with high-functioning autism. Normally, audiences do not get to see autistic characters represented and if they do they are there to be comedic or to instill great sympathy for the film.

Although the film does create sympathy for Christian Wolff and he has comedic moments, the primary takeaway from his character is that even though he has had to face many challenges within his life he has managed to rise above and be very successful.

The audience sees how he works his disorder and how he does not let it get in the way of his life. The message of a highly functioning autistic individual going after what he wants and accomplishing it is perhaps the greatest aspect of the film.

“The Accountant” is a delightful surprise for this fall season. It is worth checking out if you are typically into action or spy films.