Review of Nobody
midlandsmovies • June 14, 2021
Nobody (2021) Dir. Ilya Naishuller
Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk plays seemingly mild-mannered family man “Hutch” in a new explosive action flick from the Russian director of Hardcore Henry (2015).
Right from the start, Edgar Wright-style quick-cut montages show the monotony of Hutch’s repetitious daily grind and when burglars strike his home, his inability to take any action makes him a failure in the eyes of his family.
The film’s slow pace increases dramatically when a bus journey home sees a group of thugs tormenting a female passenger before they receive a violent beating at the hands of Hutch himself. Leaving bloodied and beaten bodies we begin to find out all is not what it seems with this apparently dull dad.
With echoes of A History of Violence, Nobody also sees a small-town man lash out with hidden fighting skills gained from a previous life kept hidden from his family.
Odenkirk himself is fantastic as the downtrodden but likeable Hutch. It’s a role he’s perfected from his first appearance in Breaking Bad as Saul Goodman. And the film’s editing is swift and economical which we are thrown headlong into as the audience barrels along its brisk 90 or so minutes.
There’s nothing particular surprising narrative wise in Nobody. The secret identity trope plays out as expected but Odenkirk and the excellent supporting cast (including Connie Nielsen as his wife and the too-little-seen Christopher Lloyd) instil plenty of pep into their broad stock characters.
The involvement of the Russian mob, some intense car action and a few house-bound John Wick-esque shootouts and smack-downs certainly keeps the movie familiar. But it also sticks enough kinetic camera work into the mix to make it feel fresher than it is.
However, it’s a tad let down from being a complete success by its overblown ending. Whilst for the most part it feels, and has the tone of, Liam Neeson’s first Taken film. There we had a semi-serious flick about a family man who ends up on a murderous rampage – but which kept its OTT action mostly in check. Here though, a final shoot out feels more played for laughs which is less Die Hard and more Hot Shots!
It’s a shame really as the conclusion feels more like the preposterous Taken 2 and 3 films. But thank goodness it never undoes the good work laid down in the previous hour.
And much like Taken, this film’s biggest draw is really its skilful re-contextualisation of a familiar and level-headed character actor into an action star we can truly believe is both a good guy and a bad ass!
★★★★
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