Nobody: Film Review
I didn’t have the greatest of expectations for Nobody, I thought it was going to be some cheap John Wick knock-off with an odd choice of action star but I take it all back because, in reality, it was great fun.
Bob Odenkirk leads the movie as Hutch Mansell, a seemingly ordinary man with a wife, Rebecca (Connie Nielsen), two kids and an unremarkable 9-5 job and seems to be going through the motions of his monotonous life on autopilot. One day, he intervenes when a young woman gets harassed by a group of men on a bus – but these weren’t random drunken louts, they’re connected to Russian Mob boss Yulian (Aleksei Serebryakov), who now wants revenge and has Hutch in his sights.
Nobody is basically a lighter and more fun version of John Wick – it’s even written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad. It doesn’t take itself seriously and there are plenty of absurd, tongue-in-cheek moments that made me laugh out loud to go along with the brutal, visceral action sequences. There are plenty of these – the standouts being the aforementioned bus sequence and the finale – so fans of John Wick will get their action fix as well as a big dollop of comedy.
The reason for Hutch coming into Yulian’s crosshairs was quite tenuous and the storyline itself is rather far-fetched and ridiculous but you’ve just got to embrace it and roll with it to maximise your enjoyment. There are some great pieces of dialogue in the script, some excellent use of music and the editing towards the beginning was top tier.
Odenkirk, best known as lawyer Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, is not who you would expect to be the star of an action movie but that’s the whole point. Hutch is supposed to be this physically unassuming, nice and ordinary guy who blends in with everybody else and Hutch has played this part for years until he is pushed into taking action and utilising his special skills. He may be an unlikely action hero, but Odenkirk looked very capable and convincing in the fight sequences so hats off to him for going for such an unexpected and physically demanding role.
As good as Odenkirk is, he is often outshone by Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown!) who is the star of the show as Hutch’s dad, a former FBI agent. At 82, he has an unexpectedly kickass role that is just a joy to watch. It seems like there are going to be more of these films so he best be back, same for RZA as Hutch’s half-brother Harry. Nielsen had very little to do so I hope she gets an upgrade next time.
Nobody was a pleasant surprise – adjust your expectations accordingly.
In cinemas from Wednesday 9th June