Despite opening during the pandemic when going to the cinemas wasn’t exactly the easiest excursion, Nobody – released in March of 2021, having been pushed from its original date of August 2020 – managed to (rightfully) fight its way through opposition to relative success; on a $16m budget it earned a solid $57.5m worldwide.
It utilised a simple premise (the unlikely hitman), had a trusted genre team behind it (Deadpool 2 director David Leitch served as a producer, John Wick scribe Derek Kolstad penned the script, and Hardcore Henry helmer Illya Naishuller was directing), and an even more committed actor leading the charge (Bob Odenkirk), resulting in the type of actioner that knew if something wasn’t broken, you didn’t need to fix it. Instead, you could just creatively beat the shit out of it for 92 entertaining minutes.
The creative gang are all (mostly) back together again for Nobody 2, with Indonesian action/horror afficionado Timo Tjahjanto stepping in Naishuller’s place, bringing his bloody flair to proceedings. Once again, he’s a director aware that the formula doesn’t need tweaking, but it could do with a lot of added heft when it comes to violence and humour, so, in seeming true Tjahjanto form, Nobody 2 laces its standard narrative with enough physicality to make a second go around with Odenkirk’s “retired” government assassin, Hutch Mansell, a (literally) bloody good time.
It’s been four years since his Russian mob adventures of the first film, and Hutch is still $30m on debt to a slew of criminal organisations, now working off his owings by executing an endless string of hits on whichever thug needs to be eliminated. He’s good at the dirty work, but it’s taking its toll on his home life, with his two kids – 17-year-old son Brady (Gage Munroe) and 12-year-old daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath) – treating him like a stranger in his own home, whilst long-suffering wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) has practically given up on making any kind of effort, knowing Hutch won’t be there on the other end for any type of emotional support.
Needing a reason to get back to his family, Hutch suggests an impromptu family getaway to Wild Bill’s Majestic Midway and Waterpark, a low-rent tiki-type hotel and themed attraction park that holds a particularly special place in his heart; we learn it was the only place that his dad (Christopher Lloyd) took Hutch and his brother, Harry (RZA), on vacation to as children. Not entirely sold on the choice of destination, but relatively enthused at the thought of being together as a family, the Mansells pack up and ship off to the small tourist town of Plummerville, eager for the safe family fun that awaits.
Or, at least you’d think so.
A minor encounter with the town bullies leads Hutch into the crosshairs of the corrupt theme-park operator (John Ortiz), a shady sheriff (Colin Hanks), and, by extension, a maniacally unhinged crime boss, Lendina (Sharon Stone, having an absolute ball of a time), which, basically, means his vacation is a little more bloodthirsty than originally intended. At only 90 minutes, Kolstad’s script, written in collaboration with Aaron Rabin, wastes no time on cutting straight to the action bone, setting up Lendina’s extended crime ring with just enough exposition for us to know Ortiz and Hanks’s characters are low-rent in comparison – even if Hanks, in particular, tries to win the swinging dick contest against the exasperated Odenkirk, who imbues Hutch with a more comedic sensibility here, clearly fed up with the fact that his vacation is ruined by the constant threats to his life; a fight sequence on a duck boat perfectly encapsulates this mentality, with Odenkirk’s physical prowess as both a capable action star and comedian perfectly playing off the intricate stunt choreography and violent turn of mind from Tjahjanto.
Whilst Nobody 2, overall, very much plays as you’d expect, it doesn’t take away from the fact that the action and comedic beats on hand are all incredibly entertaining and suitably executed. When it lets the facets of its femininity shine bright, it’s arguably a better film though, with the suggestion of Becca having her own potentially violent history adding a nice layer of intrigue for (hopeful) future chapters, and, as mentioned earlier, Stone’s wild energy as the knife-happy, French Bulldog-adorned, will-dance-in-the-middle-of-a-war villain truly ignites whenever she’s on screen.
A fun, violent continuation that doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but enjoys using such an apparatus to inventively off the hoards of goons unfortunate enough to cross Hutch’s path, Nobody 2 owns its preposterous set-up with savage aplomb. Odenkirk has really turned this sitcom-like dad into a real somebody, and now further enhanced by Tjahjanto’s keen genre eye, the Mansells have emerged as the unlikeliest protagonists in an action space that could do with more of their familial foolery.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Nobody 2 is now screening in Australian theatres, before opening in the United States on August 15th.
