NOBODY – Review

As most of the country enters full Spring break “status”, the studio wants to lure film fans back into the theatres with a genre that usually thrives in the warmer months, the “rock ’em, sock ’em”, ” hard” R-rated action flick. Ah, but something sets this one apart from the other “bone-crunchers” of the box office. Well, right off, from the poster and other marketing, we see it stars an actor being, to put it mildly, “cast against type” (no offense, but “The Rock”, he ain’t’). Oh, but the lead role is the vital ingredient in this new mix of thriller elements while tossing in tropes of other genres. From those comic book-inspired sagas, we get a “master of mayhem” who’s wrapped in the guise of an average joe. And, as with horror flicks, there’s lots of concern about whether his unleashed “inner beast” can be tamed once more. So basically, almost everyone initially dismisses him since, and he proclaims this to many other characters, he appears to be a real NOBODY.

The “non-entity” in the title refers to “mild-mannered” suburban husband and father “Hutch” Mansell (Bob Odenkirk). His days are pretty much routine. Hutch awakes at the same time, eats the same breakfast, always seems to just miss the garbage pick-up, then takes the bus to his nine-to-five job at a small-sized machinery shop (is it automotive, or heating equipment). After clocking out, it’s another ride home to his bored (a massive cushion between them at night in the bed they share) real estate sales agent wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), surly unimpressed teenage son Blake (Gage Munroe), and sweet, doting nine-year-old daughter Abby (Paisley Cadorath). And then, late one night, that routine is shattered. Hearing a noise, Hutch goes downstairs and stumbles upon a pair of black-clad, ski-masked home invaders. Unfortunately, they get the drop on him, but Hutch complies with their demands giving away his watch, wedding band, and a few bucks in the “petty cash” bowl. Ah, but son Blake springs into action, trying to tackle one of them as Hutch freezes. The teen is rewarded with a black eye as the duo escapes into the night. Of course, nearly everyone, co-workers, neighbors, even the police, inform Hitch that they would’ve “taken out” the crooks. But Hutch seems resigned to be the “wimp of the block” until daughter Abby tells him that her kitty-cat bracelet is gone. This flips on an inner switch, as Hutch switches gears into “revenge” mode. He pays a late-night visit to the retirement complex home of father David (Christopher Lloyd), opens a wall safe, and takes out a pistol along with a big wad of cash. Playing “detective”, he tracks the thieves down (in the scuffle Hutch saw a unique wrist tattoo), who don’t have the bracelet, but are in very “dire straights”. Hutch’s “code” will not allow him to punish them. However, a group of violent drunken thugs harassing a young woman on the bus ride back home? Well, they will certainly satisfy his “blood lust’. After emptying his gun of cartridges, he leaves them in a bloody, crumpled mess. But wouldn’t you know…one of those creeps he put in the hospital is related to the city’s most feared Russian gangster, the kingpin/ dance club-owner Yulian (Aleksey Serebryakov). When he does his own “sleuthing”, the entire Mansell family has a target on their backs. Can Hutch possibly protect them despite the return of these hidden skills from a past violent life? And does he have a “reset” button?

Of course, the subject of my earlier casting comments is Odenkirk, who displays another unforeseen “skill set’ in his talent roster. After establishing himself as a major comic talent as co-creator of the influential HBO gem “Mr. Show”, he continued in supporting roles in several other humorous movies and TV shows (he auditioned for the lead in “The Office”), until AMC-TV’s “Breaking Bad” spun-off his lawyer character for the acclaimed drama “Better Call Saul”. Yes, comedy and drama, but an action star? Fortunately Odenkirk sells it, giving the script an extra jolt with his “low-energy” everyman in the film’s opening sequences. When he peels away his timid outer shell, Odenkirk shows us that Hutch is re-vitalized as he returns to his former self. Luckily he still shows us that his love of family hasn’t been discarded, which injects an extra urgency to the story’s last act. Nielsen as wife Becca also seems to awaken from her slumber as she finds much more mystery in the man she’s been keeping at a distance so long. Lloyd is also terrific as another man wearing a “false front”, who’s happy that his boy has returned” while gleefully joining him and diving into the real chaos, after numbing himself with the phony carnage of “late show” TV Westerns. Serebryakov proves a worthy adversary as an unrestrained rabid dog whose ego will not let this little “worm” get the best of him (he inspires panic in both his enemies and allies). The great Michael Ironside (the “exploder” of SCANNERS) is the most understanding employer ever as Hutch’s long-time boss. Oh, and there’s a terrific final battle cameo role for a great music/action flick star (no spoilers from me) that helps the flick end on a high note.

The man behind HARDCORE HARRY, Ilya Naishuller directs the destruction with a deft, confident flair, shifting gears with ease from the drudgery of Hutch’s “comfy” lifestyle to the adrenaline-fueled set-pieces, in particular, the bus “beat-down”. For that he gets us inside Hutch’s head as he scopes in the enemy and the surroundings like a general hatching a battle strategy. Oh, but he’s not a super-human, as the somewhat-tipsy creeps inflect loads of damage to the “one man armada”. It helps that Odenkirk sells the pain of flexing little-used muscles. This tale combines themes from THE EQUALIZER, AMERICAN BEAUTY, and the JOHN WICK flicks (the script is from one of its creators Derek Kolstad) and produces a really original spin on the urban action genre. But at the midpoint, it veers a tad off course into a now-familiar staple with the current “go-to” baddies, the “made-men from Moscow”. I believe I literally sighed and said under my breathe “Russian mobsters, again” since I CARE A LOT was mere weeks ago. This leads to the finale that owes a bit too much to Denzel’s outing and the HOME ALONE flicks (really). Oh, but when it works in that first half, Odenkirk as the savage suburban Centurian is a sight of awesome bloody wonder. Thanks to him Hutch is most memorable and far from a NOBODY. Cross him and you’d better call Saul, right after 9-1-1.

3 Out of 4

NOBODY opens in select theatres everywhere beginning Friday, March 26, 2021