Nobody (2021)

By: Mike Ward on Thursday, March 25

R Running Time: 92 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • Bob Odenkirk is the action movie star I never knew I needed.

  • Scrapping the renegade GoPro chaos and gimmickry utilized in his last film (Hardcore Henry), director Ilya Naishuller proves adept at crafting great atmosphere, pacing, and choreographing action sequences.

  • Nobody calls to mind films of decades past, revisiting the unassuming dude-becomes-bloodthirsty-vigilante story for a world weary from a global pandemic.

NO

  • Which calls to mind the question: Do we need a gun-heavy, hyper-violent vigilante revenge movie in 2021? Right now? With things they way they are in the world? Some will find this extremely tone-deaf.

  • There isn’t much of a plot here and Odenkirk’s subdued performance is not going to work for everyone,.

  • A case could be made that this is a film without a real conscience.


OUR REVIEW

While I don’t believe the moment ever happens, at some point during Nobody, you almost expect Bob Odenkirk to turn to the camera and wink at all of us watching. 

In Nobody, the veteran actor is clearly having a ball playing vigilante in his first leading role as an action movie star. Shot in 2019, and moved around a half-dozen times on the release schedule before landing in theaters in late-March 2021 during a pandemic, the 58-year-old actor wields weapons like guns, knives, and whatever he can get his hands on with immense skill (and great editing, of course).

Odenkirk becomes the action movie star I never knew I needed.

Nobody is a rather simple story; the second feature from director Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry). Married to Becca (Connie Nielsen), with a teenage son (Gage Monroe) and young daughter (Paisley Cadorath), Odenkirk stars as Hutch, a paper-pushing bookkeeper who meanders through the work week, living an almost Groundhog Day-like domestic existence. Life is repetitive, ordinary and lacks inspiration.

Things change when Hutch’s home is broken into by two burglars. A standoff occurs, threats are made, and Hutch is compliant. Though eventually the burglars flee the home, it comes at the expense of protecting his son, who gets punched as Hutch stands by holding a golf club. With his family upset at him, and Hutch’s inaction questioned by others, we are privy to the fact that perhaps Hutch was more in control of the situation than anyone questioning his actions realized.

This being Hutch’s story, the camera catches a visible tattoo on someone’s arm, or offers up details for us that Hutch himself has focused on. All of this sets up the rest of what is to come: Hutch seeking revenge for the break-in, but also quenching a long-simmering thirst to call upon his suppressed skills as a vicious assassin, trained with robust skill to kill or maim anyone who crosses his path in a threatening manner.

The movie pivots on a fateful bus ride in the middle of the night. A thrilling and masterfully executed set piece, Hutch returns home with cuts, bruises, and injuries, but man-oh-man is he alive again. When it is determined that one of the individuals Hutch encountered is tied to a Russian mobster (Aleksey Serebryakov), we see that Hutch is going to be roped into something much bigger than he initially realized. And naturally, he is more than ready.

Nobody is an everyman’s revenge saga, the likes of which can be traced back to Charles Bronson’s Death Wish franchise of the 1970s and 80s, Liam Neeson’s Taken films and, of course, Keanu Reeves’ increasingly popular John Wick movies. Written by Derek Kolstad, who penned the first three Wick films, Nobody is largely predictable in terms of storyline development, but catches us off-guard with the ingenuity and execution of Hutch’s ability to be a rather devastating killing machine.

Anchored with a stylish look and feel, a pulsing score of rock, jazz, and orchestral pieces by David Buckley, and some fantastic editing work from Evan Schiff and William Yeh, the movie is almost rhythmic and melodic in presentation. Schiff and Yeh cut the film so precisely, we seem to ride along on a melody akin to a catchy pop song we cannot stop listening to; albeit one filled with violence and mayhem. We become so engaged with Hutch, we just bounce along to the cinematic rhythms playing out before us.

As more absurdity gets tossed into the story - a massive stockpile of money, a Russian bad guy who loves (and I mean, loves...) karaoke and the ability, in present day, to purchase things with giant gold bars (I guess they didn't accept Bitcoin?) - Nobody becomes more ridiculous the longer it goes. 

I would be remiss to not acknowledge that the film also falls in love with the laziness of gun play as a means with which to set up the final set pieces that conclude the film. Certainly as an homage to movies of the past, the shootout sequences fit fine. However, in today’s world, and on the heels of two significant public shooting incidents in the days prior to Nobody being released, you have to wonder when filmmakers overall will stop flirting with the fetishization of guns and gun violence in movies.

That being a rhetorical debate, let’s leave that for another time. Though some will balk at this, Nobody is an entertaining romp. One simply cannot praise John Wick and those Taken films (okay - really only the first Taken film) and not find plenty to enjoy. Odenkirk sells this action movie hero’s journey so well, you simply cannot help but throw up your hands and just embrace all this craziness.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Aleksey Serebryakov, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Ironside, RZA, Gage Munroe, Paisley Cadorath, Colin Salmon, Billy McLellan, Araya Mengesha

Director: Ilya Naishuller
Written by: Derek Kolstad
Release Date: March 26, 2021
Universal Pictures