Nobody

After the critical and commercial success of John Wick, the action genre got a much needed resurgence that not only led to a lot more stunt-based features that went out of their way to bring grit and style back to a very recyclable formula, but a lot of actors not known for action decided to throw their hat in the ring after how well Keanu Reeves was received in his return. With a lot of these films being spearheaded by the two responsible for the John Wick films; Derek Kolstad and David Leitch (who have split off to do their own films as of late), the resulting movies haven’t been on level with what started the trend, but did produce some stylish fight scenes and saw actors like Ana de Armas, David Harbour, Brad Pitt and Jamie Foxx throw a few punches and left a meaningful bruise in the process. However, the one film that managed to leave a noticeable scar was the 2021 film, Nobody, starring Bob Odenkirk of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame, earning strong positive reception and a box office return of $57.5 million on a $16 million budget, proving that these clones didn’t all have to be inferior.

Mild-manner husband and father, Hutch Mansell (played by Bob Odenkirk) had to face a break-and-enter where he allowed the criminals to escape, causing him to be looked down upon his co-workers, his neighbors, and even his own son. What they don’t know is that Hutch was a former assassin for the United Stated Intelligence Community who, after sparing a target who went on to better himself, leaves the killing business and built a stationary but happy family with his wife Becca (played by Connie Nielsen) and his two kids; Brady and Sammy (played by Gage Munroe and Paisley Cadorath). After releasing some long-suppressed rage upon some hooligans, any chance of domesticity is crushed when Russian mafia boss, Yulian (played by Aleksei Serebryakov) learns that his younger brother (who was part of the group Hutch beat up) was put into a catatonic state, causing him to go after Hutch and his family. With his home being invaded and his loved ones put in danger, Hutch decides to shake off the dust and return to his killing ways, getting the help of his retired FBI agent father, David (played by Christopher Llyod), his in-hiding assassin brother, Harry (played by RZA) and former government handler known as The Barber (played by Colin Salmon) to hit Yulian where it hurts and stop him from ever going after his family again.

Nobody (as its namesake may suggest) doesn’t appear like much on the surface but manages to be more than anyone would’ve predicted it to be. It doesn’t shake the boat in terms of traditional action staples, but with passionate direction, engrossing visuals, graphic fight scenes and a really strong leading performance from Odenkirk, it’s a fight worth spectating.

Considering this film was released after the initial break-out of the COVID-19 pandemic, its box office expectations were toned down in order to match the new landscape, but Nobody would’ve provided the kind of simplistic yet gratifying punch-fest audiences at the time were looking for as a means of escape. Compared to John Wick, the universe this movie inhabits is far more straightforward and doesn’t have an established history to constantly peel at, but retains the colorful characters, close-quarters and aggressive fight scenes, and an environment that balances light and playful with dark and consequential, while still having its own identity. From a narrative and writing standpoint (the latter of which is handled by Derek Kolstad), nothing outside of the initial premise is that intriguing, as the trailers did a good job capitalizing on Odenkirk’s every-man demeanor and look to make the ensuing fights feel more unique, but not so much on explaining how its story would feel different from any other action film of the past decade. It’s thankfully quite a short film at only 92 mins and offers a twinge of dark humor which brings levity and perk to a pretty predictable course of events, but what really elevates it above another disposable option is how its performed, visualized and directed.

Ilya Naishuller had only directed one feature film prior to Nobody (that being the 2015 sci-fi action film, Hardcore Henry), and mainly directed music videos for musicians and bands like Biting Elbows, Leningrad, and The Weekend, so while he might be short on experience, his select body of work seemed to help him form a very energetic and appropriately punchy filmmaking style that really brings a kinetic zest to this film, making the action more engaging, the performances more lively, and the visuals more engrossing. While the opening minutes feel hyper personified for no seeming purpose, the remainder of the film feels correctly display, and even if the story isn’t entirely engaging (and can even be a tad confusing in regards to the villain’s portion), it contains an emotional familial component that (much like John Wick) could feel silly from a certain perspective, but acts on a sentimental wavelength that’ll work for most.

Characters in an action film can be fully of personality if the tone and world allows them to be and given that a lot of the people who worked on the John Wick films either helped write or produce this film, that personality is retained and leads to some very stand out supporting performances. From a writing perspective, none of these characters are phenomenal, and sadly a common trope of all the films handled by this creative team, is that the villains are always the weakest part, and that proves true here as well. Aleksei Serebryakov is trying his hardest to make his character more interesting and human, but outside of his opening scene which presents him as a playful partier who will snap in a bloody rage when challenged, he just feels like any standard Russian mob boss, and that isn’t fun when everybody else has more to work with. People like Connie Nielsen, Michael Ironside, RZA and Araya Mengesha could’ve used more screentime, but are able to make the most of their brief inclusion, Christopher Llyod as Hutch’s father allows the long-unseen actor a fun chance back in the spotlight, and Colin Salmon uses his single scene very effectively as the informant helping Hutch out, but the main star of the film is easily Bob Odenkirk.

Having proven to the world his incredible acting capabilities by taking a very one-note comedic archetype in Breaking Bad and transforming him into a tragic and deeply flawed human in the follow-up spin-off, Bob Odenkirk (much like some of his Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul alumni) didn’t get that many opportunities after both show’s concluded and his casting in an action film definitely felt like an odd decision, but one that had a ton of potential, which this movie takes full advantage of. Odenkirk isn’t a very diverse actor, but they use his hoe-hum persona alongside his strong facial emoting and sparky dialect to create a pretty fun action protagonist. He’s not very muscular, takes his fair share of scrapes, and does feel shielded by the movie with how much he’s put up against without much issue, but his pleasant demeanor and ‘’family-man’’ appeal brings a more human side to what could be a cold blood-thirsty assassin, and the sparks of giddiness that occur when he’s faced with dangerous situations is a fascinating look into his psyche, rounding him up into a memorable action lead that could last future sequels.

With most of these action offshoots being coined as ‘’John Wick-adjacent’’, it’s an unfortunate side effect that the fight scenes are expected to be on par, which isn’t a small feat considering John Wick helped revitalize the action genre for Western audiences through elaborate and intimate fights that really made you feel the pain, but were also stylish and almost beautiful to witness at the same time. While most haven’t made as much of a splash, they’ve at least kept the bare essentials and Nobody is no different. It’s hard to say that any of the fights are incredibly memorable, or have stunts that’ll blow people away, but for the few that are featured, they have good build up, contain stunts that feel grounded enough to be believable but make up for that with some gruesome bone breaks and face-smashing, and are accompanied by a vibrant soundtrack filled with great song choices that really amp up the chaos ensuring (particularly the climax featuring Pat Benatar’s Heartbreaker, and Gerry and the Peacemakers’, You’ll Never Walk Alone) and a bassy rock musical score by David Buckley that also does a great job hyping up a moment.

The overall visual style does a great job making standard environments feel more interesting, as the homely setting and more regular types of locations featured like a metal shop, a travelling bus and even a typical suburban home are incorporated into the action in a way that brings a specific flavor to this premise, and the over saturated color work and lighting goes a long way to making these moments somehow look darker and more natural, but also cinematic and eye-catching at the same time. Some of the shots handled by Pawel Pogorzelski can be very dynamic and fun, and while some of the editing earlier on by William Yeh and Evan Schiff does feel overly spontaneous and almost too much out of the gate, it is still a very concisely stitched together moment and the rest of the film is appropriately paced out.

Nobody could’ve been a very sub pare action film that only rode the coattails of its older, more successful action film cousin to earn status and success (which has been the case with some of these movies created by this team), but not only did it prove it could survive even in harsher circumstances (during a COVID-19 invested world), but that it wasn’t going to be satisfied with tail gating and put in the effort to produce an engaging, quick-paced, and all-around connectable feature. While not as strong or as captivating as the first John Wick (very few films can say they are), Nobody keeps hold of its best attributes like its action, personality and casting choices, while being its own creation thanks to its familial throughline and Bob Odenkirk’s gentile yet ferocious performance. The villain isn’t that great, some subplots don’t have much of a resolution, and despite being a family-centred film, it would’ve been nice if they were more involved, but as it is, Nobody proves to be anything but anonymous.