Why Everyone's Suddenly Rewatching Jon Bernthal and Ben Affleck's "The Accountant"

Ten years after its divisive theatrical debut, "The Accountant" is suddenly one of the most-watched movies in the world, climbing global streaming charts on Apple TV as audiences rediscover the 2016 action thriller starring Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal.

Directed by Gavin O'Connor, the film stars Affleck as Christian Wolff, an autistic forensic accountant with a hidden set of lethal skills, and Bernthal as Braxton, his estranged brother and rival assassin. Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson round out the cast.

While "The Accountant" split critics at release - holding 53% on Rotten Tomatoes against a much warmer 77% audience score - it built a devoted following over the following decade, largely credited to the tense, emotionally charged dynamic between Affleck's and Bernthal's warring brothers.

That following paid off. Last year's sequel, "The Accountant 2," reunited the two actors for a follow-up that fared even better with critics and audiences alike (75% and 92%, respectively), expanding the franchise's reach in theaters and on Prime Video. The renewed attention now appears to be sending viewers back to the original, which is surging on Apple TV's charts.

Both films are currently available to stream: the original "The Accountant" on Apple TV, and "The Accountant 2" on Prime Video.

Beneath the gunfights, the franchise's emotional core has always been two brothers separated by trauma and circumstance, searching for a way back to each other - a thread of estrangement and reconciliation that resonates well beyond the genre's shoot-outs, echoing the deeper, familiar hope that no relationship is too broken to be redeemed.