This review was originally published on March 9, 2025, as a part of SXSW Film & TV Festival coverage.

Ben Affleck smashes a gun into someone's face. It's not at all what I expected, but I think I loved every second of it.

Eight years after the original film, Gavin O'Connor revisits the story of Christian Wolff, an autistic ant who balances the books for some of the world's most dangerous criminals. The ant was tepidly received upon release in 2016, but over the years, its reputation has grown as the kind of dumb "Dudes Rock" action movie you come across on Netflix and won't regret watching on Wednesday night.

The ant 2 Sures The First Film

The ant 2's set-up is a bit convoluted, but the appeal of the film isn't its story. The actual driving force behind much of the action in the film often feels like a different movie entirely. It involves a mysterious assassin, a missing family, a human trafficking ring, and a dead JK Simmons, who shows up briefly in the film's first act before being unceremoniously killed off, as revealed in the trailer.

Simmons gets a few good punches in before he departs, but the real reason he's back is so Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) can find Chris and solve the murder of her former boss. Marybeth was isolated from the main story in the first film - though she was hunting for Chris, they never actually met.

This time, though, she's exposed to his less-than-legal methods of finding the truth and when Chris's brother Brax (Jon Bernthal) is brought onboard the investigation, she's understandably spooked. This may all sound like serious stuff - and it sometimes is - but the dynamic between Marybeth, Chris, and Brax is as funny as it is dangerous.

That's not why we're here, though. The real reason The ant 2 was made is immediately apparent when Bernthal and Affleck reunite. Their chemistry is undeniable, with Affleck's soft-spoken, matter-of-fact character crashing against Brax's brash and violent nature.

We spend more time with Brax and Chris hanging out, both solo and as a duo, than we do with them toting guns or throwing men over balconies. Chris tries speed-dating with disastrous results. Brax overshares with a terrified woman after he completes a contract. The brothers go line-dancing - also to disastrous results.

[With] Affleck and Bernthal on the road again in the airstream, we've never been more back.

It's all very unexpected and if you go into the film thinking you'll be getting a straightforward action movie, you may be disappointed. But if, like me, you enjoyed the first movie because of its idiosyncratic tone and didn't mind that it was a little light on action, then I have some good news for you.

A few years ago, The ant 2 looked like it wouldn't happen. O'Connor has talked at length about the sequel's delay and its journey to the big screen, but with that finally in the rearview mirror and Affleck and Bernthal on the road again in the airstream, we've never been more back.

O'Connor is already talking about The ant 3, a film he has affectionately dubbed The ant Cubed thanks to the second film's logo. All I know is, I'd gladly watch Bernthal and Affleck on screen together as much as possible. Initially, I was almost dumbfounded by The ant 2, but its charms grew on me so fast that I couldn't help but love almost everything about it, logic be damned.

The ant 2 premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival and is now playing in theaters.