Nobody

It's been a while since I've gone to a theater during the pandemic. 

Back then, it was at a time where COVID was raging in the U.S., but relatively quiet in Colorado. Movies were still changing their release dates left and right, but Tenet stuck it out. The air was different back then - it felt like a small reprieve, breath - in part of a longer struggle.

My sensation with Nobody this weekend felt different. In some regards it (the experience, not the film) felt like the light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccines are entering arms, at least in the U.S., at an impressive rate and Colorado is again on the low side of COVID numbers and hospitalizations. Nobody feels like the first of several films I could be seeing in theaters over the coming weeks along with Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, Black Widow, and others. I sure hope so. 

Regarding the film itself, Nobody is a fun trip back to the theaters that I was pleasantly and mildly surprised by, bettering my expectations by a hair or two. 

If you're thinking this is a clone of John Wick, well...you'd be right. It basically is. There are subtle differences here and there and generally speaking, Wick is the better of the likely series, but Nobody also does enough to stand on its own without living completely in the shadow of the film that clearly inspired it. 

A significant reason for that is the ever-and-always delightful, Bob Odenkirk. He and his characters are basically national treasures at this point - especially Saul Goodman - and he's a talented actor that's beginning to get the recognition and star power he deserves. I was somewhat weary that Nobody would be Saul-Goodman-fights-bad-guys, but that's definitely not the case. Odenkirk's Hutch is a family man who's been worn down by the daily and weekly grind. Get up, take out the garbage, maybe go for a run, take the bus to work, go home, have trouble sleeping, rinse and repeat. There's none of Goodman's energy and slickness to be found here and even once we begin to learn of Hutch's past, he still feels very much the everyman who just happens to have a "particular set of skills". Goodman is iconic enough of a character that has been in Odenkirk's life a long time, so it's further testament to his ability to craft wholly realized and unique characters without bleeding a lot of traits from one to the other. In the action role, he's a lot of fun, grimacing when he gets his a** kicked and doing plenty of the a** kicking himself with a smile on his face and some vicious one liners. Is it as impressive as Keanu? No, obviously not, but Keanu is also basically a real-life Baba Yaga so...that wasn't my expectation. 

"Better Call mother f**king Saul!"

"This is what happens when
you don't pay your lawyer!"

From a story perspective, I was less impressed as Nobody is kind of a "whoopsie daisy" set of errors that pits Hutch vs. the Russians. From there, he's basically required to kill them all. Luckily, the film's other characters are mostly memorable (aside from his own family who feels rather lifeless) and the film does like to have some fun throughout. There's enough of a world here to continue onward with future iterations, but I didn't find it as compelling or deliciously dark as the world/lore the Wick series has crafted. Luckily, the story is punctuated by plenty of action, especially in the latter 2/3rds of the film. This action differentiates Nobody from its inspiration. It's still a one-man-wrecking-machine type of outcome, but the action here is less ballet and more mosh pit. Hutch gets hit a lot and his hits back are thrusts with his whole body. His superpower is the ability to get back up vs. roll around and pile on 30+ headshots. There's a few standout scenes here, a finale at a manufacturing plant being the best of them, filled with guns, explosions, and a wisely used claymore. Even better, most of this action is overlaid with music, which adds to the energy and entertainment value. I would have picked different songs, but hey, music is wildly subjective.

Nobody is perfectly reasonable and fun as an obvious Wick clone. It lives in the shadow of that series in most ways, but Bob Odenkirk isn't one of them. His Hutch isn't anything wildly unique on paper, but a large part of the fun here is seeing this "everyman" and ex-lawyer (wink, wink) dole out some violent justice. I would love to see him in the role again. 

CONS

• The family characters (and actors) feel rather lifeless and unrealized
• Story is basically one big accident that pits him vs. the Russian mob
• World and backstory was interesting and I wish there had been more of it (perhaps in the sequel?)

PROS

• Bob Odenkirk is having a lot of fun and Hutch is a fully unique character from his other, very famous ones
• Strong, brutal action throughout that's a little more, dare I say, "realistic" than the Wick series. The finale being the best of the bit is a chef's kiss
• Music over the action is a welcome touch, even if I think there were better music choices
• Builds enough backstory to continue the series and the film's side characters are entertaining, even if only seldom used
• Doesn't take itself super seriously and likes to have some fun

Rath's Review Score | 7.5/10