Nobody (2021)

Movie Info

Life of a professional schmuck

Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is a middleclass schmuck.  His wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) and his children (Gage Munroe and Paisley Cadorath) aren’t very interested in his life or what he does.  When men try to rob his house, Hutch is emasculated in front of his wife and children…but Hutch has a secret.  He could have easily killed any of the men who entered.  Hutch’s previous life had been that of an agent that cleans up messes with no questions and no mercy.  When Hutch breaks his plans to stay quiet, all hell is coming in the form of an angry Russian crime lord named Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksei Serebryakov)…but Yulian also doesn’t know that it isn’t just some nobody he’s messing with.

Directed by Ilya Naishuller, Nobody is an action film.  The movie was planned for release in 2020 but pushed back to 2021 due to COVID-19.  It received positive reviews and a relatively strong box office.

Just another day on public transportation…

I wanted to see Nobody when it was released but ended up sitting on it for over a year.  I finally got to see the movie and found it a fun ride…but it was a familiar one.

Nobody is written by Derek Kolstad who also wrote the John Wick films…and Nobody feels like the flipside of John Wick.  While John Wick feels like he always makes the right choices, Hutch is more of a brawler and gets the short side of fights (as seen in the bus).  He gets better as the movie goes on, but he feels like a bit more of a brawler at the beginning of the films (which is a nice change from John Wick).

Bob Odenkirk is also inspired casting.  When I think action star, I don’t think Bob Odenkirk and I definitely don’t think lead action star…it is part of the joke.  RZA (who is Odenkirk’s side buddy) would be a more logical choice, but part of the fun and funniness of Nobody is seeing Odenkirk being a bad-ass killer.  Connie Nielsen is good as Odenkirk’s less than understanding wife and it is always good to see normal bad guy Michael Ironside.  Christopher Lloyd is always a welcomed guest also changes it up by taking on an action role.

Poor guy can’t even go into a karaoke bar without guns being pointed at him

Also like John Wick, the action is very kinetic and fast paced.  The movie feels less precise and high tech like John Wick and it does give it a slightly different feel, but it definitely feels like its brother film…with maybe more humor.

Nobody is a fun action movie without being just a funny action movie.  I think that it is often missed that action movie can have humor but still be real action.  Movies like Die Hard started to really blend it but a lot of action movies took a more comedic approach, and the hardcore action was sometimes slighted for the humor.  This film returns the more 50/50 blend of humor and action while actually leaning into the action in a way that does not demean it.  With talk of a Nobody–John Wick crossover, I’m ready…Wick and Hutch would kick some butt.