“The Accountant” was a moderate box office success when it was released in theaters in the fall of 2016, yet no one seemed to be clamoring for another chapter.

Yet here we are with “The Accountant 2,” which is a slight improvement on the original, yet still suffers from many of the same things as the original, including some wild shifts in tone that makes the film feel like two movies fighting each other for supremacy.

This chapter finds Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), the autistic accountant who served as a money launderer in the original, now living in seclusion.

When former FBI agent Raymond King (J.K. Simmons in a glorified cameo) is murdered, he leaves a message for his former co-worker Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to find Wolff to help solve two mysteries – the disappearance of an immigrant that King was trying to find and the people responsible for his death. Both may be connected with a mysterious hit woman (Daniella Pineda) – perhaps being the key to both.

Medina enlists Wolff, who enlists his estranged hit-man brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal).

The interaction between the brothers works for the most part, with Affleck’s monotone delivery playing well off Bernthal’s hot-headed killer. Their chemistry really feels like the better end of a buddy cop comedy with their partnership fun for the most part.

The problem lies with the second half, when the disappearance that drives the film comes to light. The plight of the migrant worker has some real-life present-time vibes that just don’t mesh with the same tone of the odd couple brothers.

The final act features some peril that gets eerily close to going too far, with the tone much darker than what has proceeded it.

To be fair, both films, the buddy comedy and the plight of a migrant worker, have separate strengths. The problem is when meshed together, it doesn’t work, unable to find a way to effectively piece these two stories together.

If “The Accountant 2” had decided to pick one specific lane and focused its attention in that direction, this really could have worked. As it is, it’s just the second time in this series where a potentially good film is buried in a murky final product.

If You Go
“The Accountant 2”
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal
Directed by: Gavin O’Connor
Rating: R for strong language and violence throughout
Playing at: Regal Bowling Green Stadium 12, Regal Greenwood Mall Stadium 10, Highland Cinemas (Glasgow)
Grade: C