Nobody is a word that can define everyone and anyone. It is a word that most of us live and die by. It is an identity that is both beneficial and disadvantageous, depending on how you decide to use it. For Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk), being a nobody has given him a life of a suburban dad, overlooked husband, and a nothing neighbor. When two thieves break into his home one night, Hutch’s unknown long-simmering rage is ignited and propels him on a brutal path that will uncover dark secrets he fought to leave behind.
Hutch is a man who is emasculated. His opting not to fight the two thieves and puts him further down the rabbit hole, as everyone around him shakes their head. His neighbor told him, “I wish they’d have picked my place, you know? Could have used the exercise.” The real punch in the gut for Hutch comes from his father-in-law Eddie (Michael Ironside), for whom Hutch works for, who says, “I’m thinking you did the best thing you could. I mean, you being you.” All these men around Hutch present an itch for violence they yearn to scratch. But, what they don’t know about Hutch is that he is someone who has chewed out and spit out violence for most of his life, until he decided to hang his boots and take this route of living a normal suburban life with his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), and their kids, Blake (Gage Munroe) and Abby (Paisley Cadora).
Nobody is a movie that lets the audience enjoy its full runtime. The first moment of violence happens when Hutch finally decides to unleash his history of violence for a well-deserved release. Inside a bus, against drunken men harassing a woman and looking for trouble, which Hutch happily obliges. But this moment of relapse only puts Hutch in a regrettable situation as he comes face to face with Yulian (Aleksey Serebryakov). A sociopathic Russian gangster, who owns a nightclub and likes to sing and dance.
One thing to notice about the action in Nobody is that it is not about Hutch going on a rampage of violence, rather he is someone who is dearly missing a part of him which he was great at. And as the situation presents itself, why not have fun?
Nobody is led by Odenkirk, who takes on a character he was born to play. There is an aura of calmness in the way he captures Hutch. You can’t help but admire the coolness Odenkirk oozes, especially the way his character was at the beginning and how he is at the end. But it is not just Odenkirk who is having fun, Christopher Lloyd, who plays his father David, steals a moment or two when the action knocks on his doorstep. Supporting Odenkirk is Nielson, who plays his successful realtor wife and knows of his past, and RZA, who plays Hutch’s supposedly dead brother Harry, helping him every step of the way.
Given the year we had, with several movies postponing or being released on streaming platforms, it is great to see a movie like Nobody, which presents a classic entertaining action ride which leaves you wanting for more. The universe of Nobody might seem familiar to the likes of John Wick and especially so, seeing as they share the same writer and producer, David Leitch, but the tone of the movie is faster, less stylish and elegant, than John Wick or Atomic Blonde. The direction is helmed by Ilya Naishuller, who made the science fiction action flick Hardcore Henry, which had similar aspirations.
Nobody is what you want when you are relaxed on a recliner with an open can of chilled beer. It is 92 minutes of action adrenaline that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Stay for an action sequence inside a bus, which you will want to replay again and again and admire Odenkirk beating the shit out of bad people.
