5 days ago
‘Nobody 2' Review: Bob Odenkirk Kills It (and Countless Human Beings) All Over Again
Imagine a National Lampoon vacation if Chevy Chase was a badass mass murderer — the "Nobody" sequel is just as awesome as that sounds
If movies have taught us anything, it's that the worst thing a killer can do is stop killing people. Not the 'bad' killers, of course. Movies say bad killers should be killed. We are, naturally, only talking about the 'good' killers. You know, the ones who only kill 'bad' people, with 'bad' solely defined by whether the good killer thinks they deserve to die. According to movies, we really need those killers, so if they retire and get a less murder-y day job, not only is the world less safe, but those killers would be unhappy. And that's, apparently, the biggest tragedy of all.
The 2021 action-comedy hit 'Nobody' was about yet another professional killer who came out of retirement to kick ass and reclaim his self-confidence, as well as — ironically — the love and respect of his family, the same people for whom he quit the job in the first place. 'Nobody' starred the previously unassuming Bob Odenkirk, who wasn't known for kicking ass on camera, and withheld the reveal that this suburban husband Hutch Mansell was a professional butt-kicker for so long it qualified as a twist. In the end, violence solved all of Hutch's problems, and although it was entertaining, it was still yet another action flick that equated that violence with masculinity and celebrated both in equal measure.
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The best part of 'Nobody 2' — a sequel that outshines the entertaining yet cynical original — is that Hutch's self-worth came with a price. His wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), and his two kids Brady (Gage Munroe) and Sammy (Paisley Cadorath), love and respect him, but now he's a full-blown workaholic, unable to turn off his mass murdering brain long enough to spend one non-violent day with his family. This problem never gets solved over the course of 'Nobody 2.' It's a defining personality flaw. He's either denying his compulsive urges and miserable, or caving in and jeopardizing his family. Anything he does, literally anything, is wrong… even if it's right.
So all it takes to get 'Nobody 2' going is to send the Mansells on a family vacation and wait for Hutch to ruin it. It doesn't take long. They travel to a waterpark Hutch loved as a kid and almost immediately run afoul of the locals, one of whom tries to intimidate Brady (big mistake), while another slaps Sammy (huge mistake). Of course, Hutch goes haywire. And, of course, it turns out this waterpark is somehow the cornerstone of a vast criminal empire ruled by a corrupt Sheriff Abel (Colin Hanks) and a cartoonish kingpin named Lendina (Sharon Stone).
The plot of 'Nobody 2' is irrelevant, which is a good thing because it's also hackneyed. All that matters is Hutch can't help himself. It's tempting to say he's his own worst enemy, but he has a lot of those. It's also tempting to say he's his own worst victim, but I think the dude he murders with a table saw would raise an objection. Or at least, he would if he hadn't just been murdered with a table saw.
Hutch picks a fight in the wrong town, everyone tries to kill him and his family; we don't need any more than that. There's glee to be taken in this series' elaborately choreographed yet working class violence, where Hutch makes the most of whatever happens to be handy to slaughter 'bad' guys, almost all of whom have certainly orphaned fewer children than Hutch has. But when they try to turn the tables and use those same weapons, Hutch tosses them over the side of a boat and says nobody gets to use them anymore. I guess he doesn't like tasting his own medicine — which makes sense since his medicine is homicide.
Sharon Stone has a blast playing a better Batman villain than that one time she kinda played a Batman villain. (She was in 'Catwoman,' try to keep up.) But although she's a deadly opponent, she's not the real threat in 'Nobody 2.' The real stakes are whether this family vacation gets ruined or not. It's like a National Lampoon movie where Chevy Chase is a mass murderer. That's a great pitch, dang it, and Timo Tjahjanto throws it at 105 miles per hour.
Timo Tjahjanto may not be a known quantity to mainstream American audiences, but he's been making a name for himself in the horror and action genres for years, with frenetic genre films that half-ass nothing and whole-ass everything. Films like 'May the Devil Take You' and 'Headshot' display the same cinematic verve we used to associate with Sam Raimi, and although Tjahjanto's movies have a sense of humor, 'Nobody 2' is atypically breezy for him. Give credit where it's due: Tjahjanto adds his own flair to this franchise while embracing the drollness that makes it feel ever so slightly different from so many similar films.
It's easy to write 'Nobody 2' off as 'Nobody Too' and to accuse this series of simply repeating itself in a new locale. It's also not entirely unfair, but repetition doesn't ruin a franchise unless that franchise hinges on its plots. 'Nobody 2' hinges on its characters, and they're a likable bunch who are mostly at war with themselves. The sequel even goes a long way towards retroactively improving the first 'Nobody,' since it solidifies that the Mansells didn't solve all their problems with violence. Violence will always be their problem. Whether they're attacked by the mob or inconvenienced at a grocery store, Hutch will always struggle to keep his work life separate from his home. As long as the cast stays this committed and the writers don't lose track of that inner conflict, this great sequel could have plenty of great sequels of its own.
'Nobody 2' hits theaters this Friday.
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