Bob Odenkirk returns as a deadly government assassin on vacation in Nobody 2. Which reminds me, if you're on vacation and discover an underground crime ring, better call the police.
Hey everybody, I'm Dan Merl here with my review for Nobody 2, which I decided to do on the channel because I actually quite liked the first movie and wanted to check this one out. If you don't remember the first Nobody film, it's probably because it was one of the first major releases to hit theaters back in 2021 that wasn't a day-to-day streaming release. Even with a theatrical market still very much getting back on its feet, though, nobody did do well enough to warrant a sequel. Just in case you need a refresher, Bob Odenkirk plays Hutch Manel, a former government assassin who in the first film tried and failed to live a quiet suburban life in retirement. That movie saw Hutch facing off against the Russian mob and possibly getting back into the assassin life while still trying to be a good husband and father.
In Nobody 2, Hutch is indeed back to his old ways. Though he's much more successful at killing people than being there consistently for his family. In an attempt to bring everybody back together, he plans a family vacation to his favorite childhood vacation spot and home to a second-rate carnival and water park. But because Hutch is who he is, trouble seems to follow him wherever he goes. And he soon finds himself tussling with some local bad guys.
In addition to Odin Kirk, Connie Nielsen returns as Hutch's wife, Becca, and Christopher Lloyd, always a delight, is back as Hutch's father. Rizza also pops in as Hutch's brother. And there are some new characters to either beat up or do the beating, including Colin Hanks as a town sheriff, John Ortiz as a theme park kingpin, and Sharon Stone, who looks like she's just having the time of her life as a maniacal criminal mastermind. Both Nobody and Nobody 2 were written by Derek Coloulad and produced by David Leech, two of the minds that brought us John Wick. And the film is produced by Leech's company 87 North. So you know that the action is meant to take center stage and it's pretty impressive in the movie.
Universal actually provided several clips of the action scenes for publicity purposes and use in reviews like this one. But they keep copyright claiming any videos I make that do actually use those clips for their intended purpose. So to save myself the headache of having to fight them to keep the revenue from this video, I'm just going to show you some still images. It would probably be better for Universal if I showed you the clips of really awesome, well-choreographed fighting in the movie, but it's better for me when studios don't make dubious copyright claims on my videos. So let's call it a wash.
The first Nobody was directed by Ilia Nishuler, who also directed Hardcore Henry. And this one is directed by Teemo Chajanto, who also directed The Night Comes for Us, among other films. And I love that 87 North is hiring talented action directors to make the action movies that David Leech isn't doing, like Nisher, Tanto, and Tommy Worka, who made one of my favorite new Christmas movies, Violent Night. Nobody 2 isn't setting out to reinvent the wheel. Just, you know, give it a good spin. And I liked both the action choreography and the creativity where the action is set. From an arcade to a duckboat to a theme park finale. Listen, we've seen punches and gunshots and explosions before. Now it's all about the execution, sometimes literally.
The biggest drawback for the movie is that the story doesn't show the same kind of creativity. For a while, I was actually excited because it seemed like the premise of the movie was going to be about an assassin on vacation who has to use his skills to fight not a multinational cartel and a bunch of mass commandos, but a two-bit local crime ring who's unintentionally gotten in over their head. It's an unexpected take, and I think that that angle on the film would have required Hutch to hold back a little bit while still trying to get the job done. Unfortunately, about halfway through, it turns out that Hutch does have to fight a big cartel and a bunch of mass commandos, and some of that newness is lost. It's still enjoyable, just not that innovative.
Still though, Bob Odenkirk continues to be a great choice to play the lead in this franchise. I love that he obviously does the work required to perform as many of these stunts as he can, not just look cool in close-ups and let his stunt double do all the hard stuff. And he combines that work ethic physically with that affable everyman quality he can have that helps these movies stand out in a sea of punch a bunch of people assassin films. I also think that Connie Nielsen gets a lot more to do in this movie and we get to see some sides of her character that we didn't get to see in the first film. And as I mentioned, Sharon Stone obviously relishes getting to play an over-the-top villain. maybe because she's playing one this time in a much better movie than Catwoman.
The movie also looks pretty good with cinematography from Ken Green, who also shot multiple episodes of Gareth Evans series Gangs of London, as well as Netflix's The Gentleman. Nobody 2 really had me on the hook for the first half of the movie. And while I was less engaged with the second half, I still enjoyed it. It's also a tight 89 minutes with a reported budget around $25 million. And when you combine that with this year's The Naked Gun, another mid-budget film with a sub-90 minute running time, I'm starting to feel hopeful that the film industry economics of today may be forcing us back to making affordably made films with reasonable run times. And if that's the new trend, unlike Hutch Manel, you're not going to see me fighting it.
So, on my personal scale, I think that the appealing performances and the originality of the film, especially in the first half, along with the well-choreographed action, is enough to put it up in the it's good category, even if it's not earthshattering. If you're just looking for a solid action film to pass these late summer afternoons, I think you're going to be happy with what you get.
So, that's my review of Nobody 2. And if you're not sick of seeing me talk about movies just yet, you can also check out an interview that dropped this week that I did with Ross Williams, who runs a great channel here on YouTube called The Daily Jaws. He asked me to be part of an interview series celebrating Jaw's 50th anniversary, along with some amazing people like Simon Peg and Greg Nicotero/Ian Shaw, a whole bunch of folks. and he not only gave me the chance to talk about my favorite movie, he also surprised me with an appearance by somebody who is in the actual movie. It was a great discussion and you can find it right now on this little card up here or down in the description below. But most of all, thank you for watching this video. Be sure to stay tuned right here to the channel for the latest in movie news, reviews, box office, and more. If you're not subscribed, hit that subscribe button, hit the bell so you know when I upload a new video. And of course, as always, until next time, stay safe and I'll see you then.