While I could pretty much end the review right now as you've probably already decided whether you want to watch Nobody or not, I do think it's worth mentioning that this isn't just a John Wick clone. Some of the action scenes are reminiscent, but the film as a whole is a lot more light-hearted, generally not taking itself too seriously. It's not as action-packed either - but then how many movies actually are? The action scenes in Nobody may be less plentiful and less impressive than those in the Wick series, but I still found them very enjoyable.
The story also feels a bit more relateable. At the start of the movie we see the protagonist, Hutch, wearily going through the motions of white-collar suburban family life: he's underappreciated, his family is distant, his work is unfulfilling, and when he tries to be sensible he's casually belittled for being a weakling. I think a lot of us will be able to empathise with him, at least on some level, and will be willing to root for him when he finally feels he's had enough.
Now I'm not saying we can't emphasize with John Wick when his wife and dog die, but... he never really comes across as releatable does he? Unless you happen to be an unstoppable killing machine with a broken heart I suppose, but hopefully that description applies to a relatively small percentage of the audience...
It helps that Bob Odenkirk is believable both as the worn-out family man and also as the darker, more dangerous character we see later. He even handled the physicality of the action scenes well. I'm honestly quite impressed. Aleksey Serebryakov is characterful and entertaining while also being quite menacing as the villain, although the script didn't really manage to establish him as being as big a threat as he perhaps could have been. I enjoyed Christopher Lloyd's performance; he looks like he was having fun, and I think that makes him fun to watch. The rest of the cast don't really get that much to do, but they all handle their roles well.
I really enjoyed Nobody, so much so that I'm going to give it an 8/10: it's an entertaining and well-executed action flick that's not stupid but doesn't demand too much from the viewer either.
I really loved the opening. It drew me in almost instantly as I found myself asking why this man, hand-cuffed and looking all beaten to hell, sitting in what appeared to be an interogation room, still had his cigarettes. And lighter. And... can of tuna fish? And can opener? I mean, I can understand having a can of tuna in your pocket if you happened to be on your way back from the corner store, but a can opener? Wait, why was he opening the can? Was he planning to pull out a loaf of bread and make himself a sandwich, Mister Bean style? Oh, no, that's not a loaf of bread, that's a live kitten!? What is happening? I actually think it's kind of genius, because it instantly lets you know that this isn't a movie that you should be taking too seriously.
Which is a good thing, because if I was taking the movie too seriously I might be a bit worried about some of the themes involved. See, the movie starts off with Hutch feeling worn down by the banality of his safe, unchanging, unadventurous everyday routine. That's something a lot of us can relate to. But it turns out what he really misses is the excitement of violence, the thrill of a life-or-death struggle. He, along with his father and brother, take great pleasure from gunning down their enemies in the final act. And... that's it. There isn't really any counter-point; they have fun killing all the bad guys, which somehow re-energises Hutch's life and improves his relationship with his family, and that's it. Everything is good. He went looking for violence, he found it, and it solved all his problems. The end.
That's... troubling to me. Or it would be if I was taking this movie seriously. Which I'm not. But I think it's still worth talking about. To provide a contrasting example, I feel that the end of John Wick is a actually little more nuanced: after he runs out of people to kill John is still not happy. Yeah, he adopts a dog, but it didn't feel to me like he did it because he was better; it felt like he was doing it out of desperation because he was still in pain. Well, I talked about it in more depth in my review, but the point is he wasn't smiling when the credits rolled. Of course there might be more to Nobody than I've picked up on in just the one viewing, perhaps I'll notice more if I watch it again. It wouldn't be the first time.
I saw the trailer for this and kind of regretted it because it seemed to give away what felt like a big mid-movie twist. But in actual fact the film wasn't shy with the hints, so when Hutch does start beating people up it's not a surprise at all. In fact, if anything it was a surprise how much damage he took just beating up a bunch of drunk street punks, a surprise the trailer may even have contributed to. So I can't really say that I regret having seeen the trailer even if it's normally my preference not to, especially since I probably wouldn't have watched the film in the cinema if the trailer hadn't aroused my interest the way it did. Although I can't deny that I'm curious about what my experience would have been if I had gone in blind.
Speaking of that first fight, I really enjoyed it. It was so rough, so impactful. The fact that he was getting the crap beaten out of him really worked; it created a sense of vulnerability, which helped maintain the sense of danger and therefore viewer investment as the action escalated. And of course the fact that I was not expecting it made it all the more enjoyable. I'd even go so far as to say it's my favourite part of the film. Well, that and the opening scene.
