Nobody

Summary

“I hope these assholes like hospital food.”

A few years back, Keanu Reeves starred in an action film called John Wick. The premise was simple enough – a hitman who had left the business to start a family is brought out of retirement when a Russian hoodlum steals his car and kills his dog. The film was a massive success and started the current Keanu-sance that we are still enjoying today. It has spawned two sequels to date and two more are on the way. I happen to love the John Wick films because they are a throwback action film that rely largely on real stunts performed by the actual actors. They also blend comedy with extreme violence fairly effortlessly. When I saw that the creator of John Wick had a new film in the same vein being released starring Bob Odenkirk of Breaking Bad and Mr. Show fame, I was excited. When I had an opportunity to purchase the film in 4K UHD, I took the plunge. My wife and I watched the film and were both thoroughly impressed by it.

The film begins by showing the standard boring routine that Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) follows every day. Hutch has a wife named Becca (Connie Nielsen) who is no longer often intimate with him, a teenage son named Blake (Gage Munroe,) and an adorable young daughter named Abby (Paisley Cadorath.) He is essentially overlooked by most of his family and underestimated by his father-in-law (Michael Ironside) and brother-in-law (Billy MacLellan) with whom he works at a tool warehouse. He visits with his elderly father (Christopher Lloyd) who lives in solitude. It is a mundane existence for Hutch, but stable. That stability is interrupted when two frightened and desperate burglars break into his house. Hutch has the opportunity to take out one of the robbers, but decides not to strike with his bat. Unfortunately, his son Blake performs a tackle and hold on one of the robbers. Hutch asks that Blake let the robber go, and the robber in turn strikes Blake in the face. Outside, the officers explain that Hutch did the right thing… but if it had been his family, boy, he would have done something. Hutch handles these indignities as well as can be expected, but his family looks at him as weak despite his years in the military service as an “auditor.” In his office, Hutch talks to a friendly voice over CB radio that asks how he is handling everything, and he explains that he had not killed the assailants because they had been scared and the gun had been empty. The next day, Hutch endures the additional humiliation of talking to his brother-in-law who forces him to take a gun from him for the safety of his sister. When Hutch returns home and his daughter mentions that her tiny kitty cat bracelet was taken, Hutch can no longer resist the urge for violence. Hutch was an “auditor” – the last person you would ever want to see – a trained assassin with no records available to the public. A nobody. Through a course of events which draw him into violent conflicts, Hutch finds himself at odds with a powerful and ruthless Russian nightclub owner and gangster named Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksey Serebryakov) who is in charge of a large sum of money for the Russian mafia.

The plot in some ways is similar to John Wick – a retired hitman is drawn back into a life of violence after a home invasion. This is not surprising because the film is written by the talented Derek Kolstad. The difference in the two films is that Bob Odenkirk is not the first person that someone would expect to portray a hardened murderer. Amazingly, Odenkirk did the training and performed the majority of the very physical stunts seen in the film. Like this training did for Keanu, it lends so much to the film to see the actual actor performing the physical actions onscreen. This had to be an incredibly difficult task for the actor who has always been best known for his comedic chops. In fact, Odenkirk started out as a writer for shows like Conan O’ Brien. The script was actually written at Bob Odenkirk’s urging because he and his family had experienced a couple break-ins at his house. I think that this personal connection that Odenkirk had with the material helped the actor to really push himself. What this transformation recalls for me is how Bruce Willis, who had starred in Moonlighting in which he was a comedic private eye, proved himself as THE action star with Die Hard. I feel like what Odenkirk achieved here is similar. I might as well just say it – Odenkirk absolutely kicks ass in this film. Who knew? If you watch the special features, it shows the rigorous training that Odenkirk went through with the same team that worked with Keanu on John Wick, and it is just astounding. Bravo Mr. Odenkirk. I will gladly watch you kick ass in any action film you want to star in.

The script for the film by Derek Kolstad is great. The opening sequence that explains the drudgery of his suburban lifestyle is one of the funniest opening scenes I have seen in a while. It is a clever and fast paced way of exposing the audience to the character’s traits quickly. Where the script goes from there is just as satisfying as those moments. As he becomes more and more violent and returns to his past self, Odenkirk transitions from a fairly weak and boring person into an absolute killer. All the while, the laughs are consistently drawn. The script also benefits from a truly original villain. The introductory sequence for the villain in which he walks into his club, sings a song, and demonstrates his violent nature was one of my favorite sequences I watched this year. The film’s script is consistently surprising and interesting, and even has some really well-written moments of levity. I have been consistently pleased by Kolstad’s writing and look forward to seeing what his next project will be. That said, the script would not work without the talent of an excellent director. Russian-born filmmaker Ilya Naishuller, best known for Hardcore Henry, did a tremendous job of making the material come to life. The film flows beautifully and he draws excellent performances from all involved.

Aside from the great performance by Bob Odenkirk which has been widely celebrated, the film has an excellent ensemble cast. Connie Nielsen is a welcome addition to any film and is great here. I loved seeing Christopher Lloyd in easily the best and most rewarding role he has received in years. The film features RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan, which helps the film the same way that his presence helps any film. Aside from Odenkirk, the film belongs to Russian actor Aleksey Serebryakov. He is absolutely dynamite as Yulian. I hope that he is cast in many more action films, because he is wonderful in the film.

Overall – Nobody is the best action film I have seen in over a year, and is also my favorite film that I have watched in the last year. Highly recommended!

Video

Nobody bursts onto 4K UHD with an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The film was shot with a RED 6K camera, but the mastering of the film was performed in 2K. Therefore, the visual impact of the film reminds me a little of the recent release of Knives Out, which was also mastered in 2K and then upscaled for the 4K release. The result is a very good looking presentation that beats the Blu-ray presentation, but it will not be by leaps and bounds. Whether you buy the UHD or Blu-ray copy of the film, there is a lot to enjoy visually. The cinematography by Pawel Pogorzelski – best known for his work on Midsommar and Hereditary – is very well crafted. The HDR10 and Dolby Vision applied to the master is welcome. Overall, I would still opt for the 4K personally.

Audio

The Dolby Atmos track is fantastic. Clarity is excellent and the movie is good and loud. The ambient effects and numerous sound effects in the action sequences sound great. Universal Pictures have provided a truly wonderful track that aims to please.

Supplements:

• Deleted Scenes
• Hutch Hits Hard
• Breaking Down the Action 
  • Bus Fight
  • Home Invasion
  • Car Chase
  • Tool and Die
• Just a Nobody
• Audio Commentary: Actor/Producer Bob Odenkirk and Director Ilya Naishuller.
• Audio Commentary: Director Ilya Naishuller. 

Overall Scores:

Video: 4.5/5

Audio: 5/5

Supplements: 3.5/5

Overall – 5/5

Nobody is the best action film I have seen in over a year. It is also my favorite release of 2021 so far. Bob Odenkirk transforms himself into an action star in the fashion of John Wick, and it is a sight to behold. Everyone who watches Nobody is going to love it. Don’t miss out. While the supplements are not extremely robust, they are enjoyable, and the technical presentation is very nice considering the film was mastered in 2K. This release earns my highest recommendation.