Nobody Review – IGN

Don’t be on the wrong side of Bob Odenkirk. This is the full text and subtext of Better Call Saul star’s new action vehicle. No one – and that’s what I’m here for. From his origins in sketch comedy with The Ben Stiller Show and Mr. Show, to his dramatic work on Breaking Bad and his spin-off, Odenkirk’s transition into an edgy, knocking old man in the Charles Bronson / Liam Neeson mold seems both unexpected and entirely appropriate. And that’s just one of the many joys of this delightfully funny, delightfully violent, and never-ending action show.

Directed by Ilya Naishuller, Nobody stars Oedenkirk as Hutch Mansell, a regular worker who feels stuck by the predictable monotony of his work existence: A beautiful house where he forgets to take out the trash, a beautiful wife (Connie Nielsen) whom he rarely sees, and a job working for in-laws (Michael Ironside, Billy MacLellan) who don’t particularly respect him, while occasionally stopping by to visit his retired FBI agent father (Christopher Lloyd ).

It’s a life of perfect suburban anonymity, but things quickly change for Hutch when two burglars break into his house in the middle of the night, prompting a confrontation and a quest for restitution. Before long, he’s caught up in a series of cascading calamities involving Russian gangsters with millions of dollars at stake, houses blowing up and oh, so much blood flowing in oh, so many directions. That it’s orchestrated by the man who ran Hardcore Henry six years ago is the least surprising thing about it.

Of course, it’s not like the premise itself is anything new. When you think about it, the ‘good guy that’s had enough’ subgenre provided a fruitful vein for both serious and exploitative fare for everyone, from the aforementioned Bronson and his famous Death Wish franchise in the 70s and 80s to Michael Douglas in 1993. excellent Falling Down. It’s a scenario offering easy cathartic engagement as we put ourselves in similar situations and imagine, “What if …”

In that sense, Odenkirk has been arguably one of the most perfect actors for quite some time to inhabit these tropes, with his well-established all-male personality and crumpled appearance allowing for audience identification and possibly some real surprises. while our presumptions are challenged. That the script is by John wick Writer Derek Kolstad will inevitably be a reminder of Keanu Reeves’ invincible assassin, but Odenkirk’s very presence in the lead role, and the very normalcy he represents, serves as a visual reminder that this film is doing something different.

Instead, we are drawn into the free space of the character. The first edits depicting Hutch’s daily chore will allow us to tell each other about him even if we know very little about him. And the process of seeing our assumptions confirmed or challenged over the next 90 minutes makes the experience fruitful, avoiding a lot of twists and turns even as it goes through what could have turned out to be pretty beats by rote.

There are superficial echoes – both in content and tone – of recent Equalizer movies starring Denzel Washington, but unlike these entries (none of which really landed for me), there is a skill. contact in Nobody because it somehow balances satire with seriousness. which elicits genuine laughter in certain situations without ever losing its grip on the real issues of the story. The filmmakers are in the joke and want to welcome us too.