Much like Bryan Cranston reinvented his persona through Breaking Bad, Bob Odenkirk used Better Call Saul to do the same. For Nobody, Odenkirk is pulling yet another 180 and entering the action film realm.
The comparisons between Nobody and John Wick are bound to crop up, and for good reason. While the film is directed by Ilya Naishuller, who helmed the “first person shooter” film Hardcore Henry, Nobody’s story is written by Derek Kolstad, who has written all of the features in the Wick franchise.
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Like John Wick, Nobody centers on a man with an ambiguous past that is now trying to enjoy the blue-collar lifestyle as much as they can. Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell has a very humdrum routine of work, home, sleep, but there is a sense that he has a darker past than the film is initially willing to let on. But once a duo of robbers breaks into his house, Mansell starts to indulge the skills of his past. Things spiral from there and eventually a Russian mobster gets involved and this “nobody” is forced to break a lot of bones and spill a lot of blood.
Nobody moves at a blistering pace and is a trim 90 minutes, which leaves little room for character or plot development. Connie Nielsen plays Mansell’s wife, Becca, and Christopher Lloyd plays his dad, David, but their roles are pretty one-note. Even Odenkirk’s character is not as fleshed out as it could be, but that puts the attention solely on the action.
Nobody doesn’t play Mansell as a type of superhero, but it does showcase his experience and intelligence. The fight sequences and shootouts typically highlight the character’s ingenuity, like using some seatbelt leather to keep one thug at bay, while fighting another with a knife. There’s also some R-rated, Home Alone-esque hijinks, where Mansell sets up some traps with the intent to either maim or kill. Mansell doesn’t come out of a fist fight without a few cuts and bruises, which gives the film a more brutal nature. It doesn’t glorify violence by any means, but it also doesn’t shy away from including a few gratuitous moments either. Odenkirk’s character might be a skilled killer but he’s not above doing that killing with a little panache.
The film smartly keeps the action within the realm of possibility for a character played by Bob Odenkirk. He doesn’t feel unrealistic for a highly trained government agent that has retired and built a family. Still, Odenkirk gives his all to a role that is physically demanding, with fight choreography and shootouts that require a lot of precision. Naishuller shoots the film competently without hiding Odenkirk’s performance behind quick cuts or stuntman. Viewers will really believe that Odenkirk is doing as much of his stunts as possible.
Stylistically, Nobody hangs its hat on some classic music choices like Pat Benatar’s "Heartbreaker." Mansell is obviously an older action hero so his and the film’s musical tastes echo that. Where most modern action films opt for more bass-heavy or electronic soundtracks, Nobody’s keeps things simple and effective. Go for the hits.
Outside of the music, though, there isn’t much to give Nobody a personality besides Odenkirk playing against type. It’s an enjoyably violent action flick that seeks to entertain above all else. That results in a viewing experience that some will find hollow or gratuitous, but that’s par for the course in this new genre of action film. They revel in the gunplay, the fist fights, and the car chases and derive cheers as the body count rises.
Odenkirk does as much with Mansell as he can, but the character is still paper thin. The supporting cast is given even less to work with, but they do their best to make the characters believable. There’s clearly a formula that Kolstad has dialed in over the course of three John Wick movies and he is merely adapting it to a different character.
Almost everything else has a very John Wick feel to it, though, with the one key difference being that the main character initiates the conflict with the bad guys. But once the fists and the bullets start flying it’s a sprint to the finish and not much else matters. Watching Bob Odenkirk beat down Russian mobsters is going to be worth the price of admission for a lot of moviegoers, and exactly the type of mindless fun they need right now. In that regard, Nobody delivers.
Nobody is available now in theaters.