Nobody Review: A Middle Class, Family Man John Wick

Release date: March 26, 2021
Running time: 92 minutes        
Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, RZA, Aleksey Serebryakov, and Christopher Lloyd
Director: Ilya Naishuller
Writer: Derek Kolstad

When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe, The Shack), is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen, Wonder Woman), seems to pull only further away.  The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary (famed Russian actor Aleksey Serebryakov, Amazon’s McMafia)—and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again.

This film starts with a mysterious foreshadowing that gives you a hint of what happens but doesn't give away much.  And after this initial jolt, the film guides you into thinking that Hutch is your normal, middle class, worker with a lovely wife and kids and a boring, monotonous routine.  But this changes as you learn more about Hutch's backstory and his current predicament.  Your enjoyment of this film will largely depend on whether you can see Odenkirk as an action star.  And Odenkirk sells it well.  His more boring, buttoned up persona is there at the start, but when the action gets going he is a convincing fighter.  He is joined at times by other soldiers who add some fun variety to the overall fighting.  And on his quest, both Hutch and his various compatriots go through plenty of cannon fodder!.

And the action in this film is high energy and varied.  There is hand to hand combat, there is gunplay, there are explosions, and some improvised weapons.  Hutch dispatches people with whatever he has available, keeping the fighting interesting.  And what I also liked is that Hutch wasn't always just easily dispatching people.  Sometimes the fights would be slower and more brutal, and other times he would plow through enemies like a hot knife through butter.  And when these sequences happen, you can see why others fear him.

In fact, the whole setup for this film feels familiar, but that is not a bad thing.  The movie feels like a more family man, middle class, John Wick.  It has a lot of similarities, but Nobody has less of a supernatural component and more of an everyman one.  And Odenkirk is not as efficient a fighter as Reeves, but that is fine.  Despite the ridiculous setup and over-the-top situations, I really enjoyed Nobody.  I loved the variety in the action and the overall brutality of it all.  And Odenkirk really does carry the film as a reluctant fighter.  And to top it all off, the film has a high energy soundtrack to match the high energy fights.  Finally, Nobody concludes with a really intense and explosive final sequence that pulls everything together into one gigantic fightstravaganza. 

Nobody is a middle class, family man John Wick, with high energy and varied action, a mysterious story, and an epic, final fightsravaganza.

Watch it.

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Nobody is available in theaters on March 26, 2021.  For showtimes, click here.

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