Movie Reaction: Nobody

Formula: 1 / John Wick

 

"You messed with the wrong guy" is a pretty popular premise. There's an entire subgenre of action movies based on that. John Wick plays it up to almost comical levels. Most Liam Nesson movies play with some form of it: Taken being the best example. It was only a matter of time before someone tried to play with that concept even more. Nobody does so by reversing the idea. Instead of "You messed with the wrong guy", it's "The wrong guy messed with you". Which, in a way makes a lot more sense.

 

The movie begins with a home invasion. Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) discovers some petty criminals breaking into his house and passes up an opportunity to take one of them down. They get spooked and leave harmlessly enough, but everyone in Hutch's life looks down on him for not being a man of action. That, mixed with some other indignities in life, paints Hutch as the kind of beta male we'd all expect a 58-year-old Bob Odenkirk to play. At that point, I'm mentally prepping for a Falling Down story of a man turning vigilante and slowly, improbably becoming pretty good at it. Instead, there is a moment when he snaps. He thinks the robbers took his daughter's kitty bracelet in the robbery, and that sets him off. He goes looking for trouble, and even though the couple who robbed him don't actually provide any trouble once he tracks them down, he finds some on a bus. Until that bus fight, the movie drops small hints that there's more to Hutch than meets the eye. Once we get to the bus fight with some local goons, we realize that Hutch isn't a sheep trying to unlock his inner wolf. He's a wolf who has been posing as a sheep all along. He's a man suppressing something that he's finally letting back out. What follows is a wave of destruction that's badass and comically excessive.

 

This is an unexpected role for Odenkirk, which is why he was cast in it. Odenkirk is known for being a funny guy. The most rotten he ever is is a huckster. Any fan of Better Call Saul knows that he's capable of darkness, but he's not physically imposing. Odenkirk does bulk up a little for this role. He's clearly in better shape than he ever is for Better Call Saul. What's more important is that he takes a page from BCS co-star Jonathan Banks in how to be threatening without being built like a Hemsworth. Despite being in his 60s and 70s while working in the Breaking Bad-universe, Banks has always carried himself like a guy who could kick my ass. Odenkirk channels that same energy for Nobody. It's an impressive turn that I hope doesn't turn into a full-time reinvention like it has for Liam Nesson. Badass Nobody Odenkirk is surprisingly fun, but I'd miss Mr. Show Odenkirk. There are a few other actors giving good performances as well. Christopher Lloyd plays Odenkirk's father. While the 82-year-old Lloyd has lost his fastball, he takes delight in this unexpected role. Aleksey Serebryakov plays the obligatory Russian crime boss with violent charisma. The film could've done a little better by Connie Nielsen as Hutch's wife, but her role sort of demands that she be reactionary. Really, every performance is very secondary to Odenkirk's though.

 

It's fair to go after the movie for being a little lazy in the storytelling. It knows that we've seen John Wick or other movies like it, so it doesn't bother really explaining who Hutch is. It figures that we know the genre basics. There are just a few scenes of people quitting when they find out Hutch is involved or locking doors when they realize who he is. It's convenient for him to randomly stumble onto the brother of a major Russian crime boss on the night when he's looking for trouble. More importantly, I'm not sure this really passes the test of asking "could this character have existed offscreen?" I'm not sure I buy that Hutch could've really hidden his identity and true self so successfully for so long. Since the movie is fun though, I'll give most of that a pass.

 

The stunt work is pretty good. They cut around Odenkirk's physical limitations well. They make Hutch more efficient than physical, so he can pull off most of those stunts. This falls well short of a John Wick or Atomic Blonde, but I'd place it ahead of something like Upgrade in terms of the set pieces and fights. Most of the humor is in the extreme juxtapositions, so if you can't find the outlandishness of how a person is killed funny, then this isn't the movie for you. This will never be my first choice for an action movie, but it's a good one for any fan of the genre to see.

 

Verdict: Weakly Recommend