Nobody 2

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Let's kick this review off with a quick recap of the first film, which will probably involve some spoilers, so if you haven't watched it yet, get on that. It comes as the highest of recommendations from yours truly, featuring good old Saul Goodman as a John Wick-type, complete with pulse-pounding action, incredible fight scenes, and that touch of humour that only Bob Odenkirk can provide. When all was said and done, it gave me the solid 5/5 rating I needed while we were all hiding from Covid (March 2021).

'Nobody' featured a frustrated workaday family man named Hutch Mansell (Odenkirk) whose home is invaded one day. As he tries to keep calm after the break-in, he reaches his boiling point, which exposes his past as a skilled assassin, and inadvertently triggers a war with the Russian mob. As he works his way up the mob ladder, kicking ass and taking names, he eventually finds himself indebted to a man who calls himself "The Barber" (Colin Salmon) and gets forced to do odd, dangerous jobs for him, utilizing his skills, to pay off his debt. That's where this chapter picks up.

After everything that has happened and the trouble Hutch has caused, his family have grown distant. Things open up almost the same way as in the first film, showing his day-to-day life, padded with assignments from The Barber. One day, as his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen) is leaving the house, Hutch promises to take the family, which also includes his feisty son, Brady (Gage Munroe), who's like his Dad in many ways; his daughter, Sammy (Paisley Cadorath), who's pretty straight-laced; and his Dad, David (Christopher Lloyd) who was probably the best side character in the first film, on a vacation to his favourite childhood spot, Plummerville.

When Hutch tells the Barber that he's taking a break from his assignments in an effort to regain some ground with his family, the Barber reluctantly agrees to it, but makes sure to remind him that trouble tends to follow him wherever he goes, family or not. Just as the family vacation is starting to work out, Brady has a confrontation with a kid named Max (Lucius Hoyos), which ultimately triggers the ire of both Max's Dad, Wyatt (John Ortiz), who asks for the family to leave, and the town's crooked sheriff, Abel (Colin Hanks), who represents the trouble that the Barber forewarned Hutch about.

As things escalate with Hutch's refusal to cooperate, it's not long until he finds himself having to find some help against a sadistic crime kingpin named Lendina (Sharon Stone), who tends to take joy in her handywork, runs the town of Plummerville, and is aiming to be Hutch's ultimate downfall. So this one, much as it follows a 'John Wick' type of formula, acts as a bit more of a survival movie than a revenge movie. It is almost as good as its predecessor, with my criticisms being very few and far between. I also have a bias towards this type of high-octane action that dabbles in comedy, so one may take my praise with a grain of salt.

The only honest criticisms I have about the movie—and again, take these extremely lightly—some may find it repetitive, especially given how the film opens and ends. On top of that, the family involvement may be a bit much for people, especially when Sammy gets pushed way into the background as someone helpless when she ought to be just as badass as the rest of the household. I also think that for some, Lendina is going to be pretty over-the-top, but I do enjoy how much fun Stone had with her villainous role.

I find 'Nobody 2' almost parallel to the original film. I had as much fun here as I did with the first film, and if you're anything like me and just like these kinds of movies by default, you'll enjoy it as much as I did. However, some are bound to see it as "more of the same," and not quite up to snuff with the original. I also feel fatigue with similar films, or even with whatever they may have in common with superhero films (at least as far as the fighting and action go). I recommend watching anything like this when you need to relax after a terrible day, and you'll get more out of it.

4/5

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