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Nobody
(Universal Pictures)
By Lucas Allen
How would you categorize the new action film “Nobody”? Is it a “John Wick” knock-off, or simply an action/comedy take on the one-man vigilante/revenge movies of the last decade? That said, it’s an entertaining high-adrenaline adventure written by “John Wick” producer Derek Kolstad. It’s also directed by Ilya Naishuller, who’s previous experience in the genre was the 2016 video game-inspired, first-person shoot-em-up “Hardcore Henry.”
Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) lives a mundane experience day after day working for his father-in-law’s (Michael Ironside) steel mill before coming home each night to his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) and two kids. One night, his attempt to thwart a pair of robbers during a home invasion leaves him both humiliated and defeated. He soon confides in his elderly father (Christopher Lloyd) an ex-FBI agent and communicates with his distant adopted brother Harry (RZA) through CB radio. But once he finds out that his daughter’s favorite bracelet was stolen by the thieves, it triggers the need for him to take the law into his own hands.
What his family and friends don’t know is Hutch used to work in secret as an “auditor” for some high-profile agencies, making him an expert in weapons and hand-to-hand combat. Just then, his encounter with a group of Russian hoodlums on a transit bus leaves one of them with a damaged trachea. It’s not long before the injured man’s older brother, a Russian crime boss named Yulian Kuznetsov (Alexey Serebryakov) swears vengeance and unleashes his men to track him and his family down. This leads to a bloody showdown between Hutch and the hitmen with some unexpected help along the way.
It’s very interesting that Kolstad was going for something different with his “John Wick” concepts by putting them in a similar setting to “Better Call Saul,down to using the show’s star. He would’ve risked edging towards a comedy spoof of his creation, but he manages to strike a tonal balance between action and comedy, while he makes the story tight to keep the movie around 90 minutes. But there’s a lack of understanding to what Hutch’s job was, especially how having lethal skills has anything to do with being an auditor. Maybe if his background was merely a military man doing clean-up for any secret agency, then it would’ve made more sense for him to want a normal life.
Besides the gentle number of laughs, the main highlight is the bone-crushing action you’ve come to expect from a movie like this. While not as intense as “John Wick,” there are still plenty of flying fists and gunplay that add up to an entertaining good time. The climax at the steel mill in particular brings it all together thanks to some good choreography and solid editing. It’s also surprising to see 82-year-old Lloyd pumping shots like he owns the place, which is something even fans of Back to the Future and Roger Rabbit will be taken aback by.
Odenkirk proves to be a natural fit as the world’s most unlikely action hero as he plays it both comedically and dramatically, while also handling the fight scenes pretty well. He’s helped by a stellar supporting cast including Nielsen, Lloyd, and RZA each bringing something special to their performances. Also, Serebryakov is both menacing and hilarious as a crime boss with a knack for over-the-top theatrics.
“Nobody” is definitely not a “John Wick” knock-off, especially when it tries to make its own path and set up its own universe. There is potential for a sequel if it does well enough along with the possibility of crossing it over to the Wick series. As of right now, it’s good entertainment worth seeing on the big screen after a year of no big action movies in theaters.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for strong violence and bloody images, language throughout and brief drug use)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.25 Stars (Out of Four)
