Nobody (2021): Old Man Wick
Ever since John Wick came out in 2014, a new breed of action movie has been steadily streaming out films to much critical acclaim. With most of the hype being some of the most grounded yet stylistic fight sequences around, especially with producer David Leitch attached. Being a part of the John Wick franchise, directing over the top action films like Bullet Train and Deadpool 2, along with the super underrated spy thriller Atomic Blonde. Now to add to his growing resume is Nobody, which just so happens to include criminal lawyer Saul Goodman himself, Bob Odenkirk.
Hutch Mansell (played by Bob Odenkirk) is living his mundane suburban life as an accountant at his father-in-law’s construction firm, every day being the same as the last. On the bus ride home one night, a group of mobster’s decide to mess with a female passenger, igniting a long dormant monster Hutch had since caged. He severely beats up the mafia members, one of them being the little brother of crime boss, Yulian (played by Aleksey Serebryakov). Now on the Yulian’s radar, Hutch must use his past skills as a black ops assassin to protect his family and father (played by Christopher Lloyd) from the mob whilst trying to save his marriage.
The fighting of course is similar to that of John Wick, but it feels far more grounded in reality compared to Wick’s “Gun-Fu”. Early in the film with the bus beatdown, seeing Odenkirk take a beating before decimating his opponents both showed how well he can take a hit but also give one as well. He seriously took on 3 guys at once before breaking an idiot’s trachea. It also felt much more brutal as well, with many of the blows not completely knocking a person out and how slow some were getting up and back into a fight. But the home invasion sequence is definitely the most memorable with Saul Goodman using only household objects to dispatch armed hitmen with gruesome efficiency. And to think this all started with a lost kitty-kat bracelet.
Bob Odenkirk also really committed to his performance as Hutch, as he both managed to portray a man going about his routine looking for a slight change to end that boring feeling. He also managed to be scary when it came down to it, as he seemed intimidating when threatening a few thugs in a tattoo shop or promising to send others to the hospital before a street brawl. It is also worth mentioning that Odenkirk got ripped for the role as well, training for 3 YEARS in order to get in camera ready shape, and the hard work more than paid off. Then there was Christopher Lloyd, who up and stole the entire show from Odenkirk with his surprisingly badass and hilarious comedic timing. The funniest scene in the entire film has to be Lloyd killing two mobsters with a shotgun while sitting in his nursing home.
The story may feel like a rip-off of John Wick as the similarities are undeniable. As an old retired hitman gets on the bad side of a russian mobster which leads to an all out fight to the death, with brutal and stylistic fight sequences. But their differences are also apparent as well, with these fight scenes being more raw and less stylistic. It feels as if it’s a part of the John Wick universe while still remaining its own thing. It certainly helps that the writer and producer, Derek Kolstad, is open to a crossover of the Nobody and John Wick as they are under the same production company umbrella.
Nobody is definitely an underrated and entertaining action flick. Taking a few cues from John Wick with the fight sequences and story, although it never feels like a rip-off. With brutally raw fight sequences that can definitely stand with the best of the last few years, like the bus beatdown and home invasion sequence. It certainly helps that Bob Odenkirk traded his law license for a license to kill as he commits completely and sure has a lot of fun with it. Along with Christopher Lloyd not giving a single fuck and just enjoying himself in his performance. With a sequel to Nobody in the works and a crossover possibility, let’s see how they can expand upon Hutch’s story and maybe even come to blows with Baba Yaga in the Wick-verse when the time comes.
