NOBODY

Directing: B+
Acting: B+
Writing: B
Cinematography: B
Editing: B+

Here is a movie that is absolutely everything it promises to be. No more, no less. That basically makes it impervious to criticism, because the people who aren’t interested in this kind of movie won’t bother, and the people who are, will be thoroughly satisfied.

Or perhaps, like me, they simply like the actors in it. Bob Odenkirk is on the scene with Liam-Neeson-in-Taken vibes—Neeson was 56 when the first film in that franchise was released in 2008, creating a surprising comeback as an “aged” action star. Odenkirk is 10 years younger than Neeson, born in 1962, and thus 58 in this movie. Well, actually 57, given it was filmed in the fall of 2019. Ah, those innocent times.

Anyway, Nobody isn’t exactly covering new ground here. Taken aside, Nobody might also not exist if not for the John Wick films, released in 2014, 2017 and 2019 (when Keanu Reeves was 50, 53 and 55). It seems Odenkirk is coming along just when it’s clear we have an appetite for movies about middle-aged men who can take a severe beating but can still kick ass themselves.

And I won’t deny it: I have that appetite. Honestly, among these three men, Neeson is the least compelling as an action hero. Reeves plays the part of John Wick with the stony stoicism the role calls for, but there’s something about Bob Odenkirk that makes this kind of role just a little more fun. This is a guy who is very much playing against type, as we’re used to seeing him as a bit of a weasel. In Nobody, he has a vaguely defined sleeper-agent kind of past, has been living a humdrum and routine family life for a couple of decades, and has his passion for the work he used to do unlocked again.

To be fair, this is a guy who still exercises. When we first meet him, he’s doing regular pull-ups, usually while facing a bus stop advertisement for the real estate agent that is his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen). He jogs. For your average 57-year-old, he’s very much in shape. He’s also kind of a schlub, an everyday joe who goes to his job where each day just blends into the next.

So now let’s get into the several things I do love about Nobody, which takes several turns just to the left of where you would typically expect a movie like this to go. Hutch’s home is victim to an attempted burglary in the middle of the night, a desperate Latino couple in over their heads. Even when Hutch has the upper hand he reacts to the situation with such shocking restraint, his neighbors and coworkers think of him as weak. But, then he discovers one of the few things they stole was his young daughter’s “kitty cat bracelet,” and that sets him off to get it back. (Sound familiar? Back to John Wick and its revenge-for-his-dead-dog territory.)

What’s to love about that, you may wonder? Actually, that the Latino couple are a bit of a misdirect, as they have nothing to do with the rest of the movie. It’s when Hutch is taking the bus home itching for a fight that things really get set into motion. A group of rowdy young men climb onto the bus looking for trouble, and Hutch welcomes it with open arms, ultimately getting himself in the sights of the Russian mob.

And even at a tight 92 minutes, Nobody takes maybe a third of the movie before things get exciting—and quite violent—which gives the story setup some time to breathe. There’s no denying this is a hokey movie, but at least it has some character development. I am so tired of movies that jump right into rapid-fire action at the expense of story, and this is an antidote to that.

Also, it’s truly delightful to see Christopher Lloyd—now 82 years old—in a supporting role, as Hutch’s dad. It’s great fun when much older actors still have the strength for roles like this, because they can move seamlessly from “old and frail” to badass, which is exactly what Lloyd does in this movie, joining in the fun for an elaborately choreographed gun fight in the last act. You like watching middle-aged men kick ass? Well, Nobody throws in the elderly for good measure!

We’re also treated to RZA in that last act, after he appears only as a voice over a CB radio in a couple of earlier scenes, apparently in hiding after whatever kind of lethal partnership these three had far in the past. This shared background of theirs is never really given clarity, and if RZA is to play a key character, I rather wish he had a more substantial—and more easily decipherable—part in the film.

I do love the everyday-person looks of the characters, though. Even Connie Nielsen, while still beautiful, actually looks the age of her character. Hell, Christopher Lloyd is so old and bald now he kind of looks goofy. All of this adds to the ample charms of Nobody, which really doesn’t have a shred of originality to its plot, but easily sails into our hearts thanks to the boundless charisma of its cast. It’s incredibly violent and bloody and panders to America’s fetishization of guns, and still everyone involved seems effortlessly to make it a blast.

This movie is both exactly as corny as it looks, and better than it looks.

Overall: B+