By Bob Grimm
Bob Odenkirk takes—and throws—a lot of punches again as Hutch Mansell in Nobody 2, a fun follow-up to his surprise turn as an action star in the 2021 original.
Until he let the fists fly in Nobody, Odenkirk was best known as a comedy writer/performer—and, of course, Saul the lawyer from the Breaking Bad universe.
Lighter in tone and a lot sillier than the first venture, Nobody 2 is a good-enough sequel in that it doesn’t tarnish the reputation of the original, but it doesn’t improve upon it, either. Odenkirk, who had a serious and well-publicized heart attack after the original was released, says “heart trouble be damned!” as he doubles down on the action and ass-kicking for this one. He’s still got it, and he can throw down with the best of them. With two action films under his belt, Odenkirk is now a legit, extremely credible action star.
Hutch is working as an assassin to pay off a large debt incurred in the last film. When that gets a little too taxing, he opts to take his family on a vacation to a dumpy but somewhat endearing waterpark resort, with his father (Christopher Lloyd) in tow. Of course, somebody mistreats Hutch’s daughter (Paisley Cadorath) in an arcade, and a nasty butt-kicking is dispersed upon the offender. This angers a local sheriff (a solid Colin Hanks) and his crooked boss (John Ortiz).
However, that crooked boss isn’t the real baddie in town. That would be Lendina, played by none other than a ridiculously over-the-top Sharon Stone. Stone is fun here, even if she does chew the scenery a little too much in spots. It’s her most memorable onscreen turn in more than a quarter century. Heck, it might be her best performance since Total Recall (1990).
Connie Nielsen is fine as Hutch’s patient wife, Becca. She’s kind of had enough of Hutch’s shit, but, heck, in a dark sort of way, she digs Hutch’s tendencies to mash faces. Gage Munroe is good as son Brady; he’s prone to violence like his papa, but keeps things relatively cool. One last, extra shout-out to Hanks, son of Tom, who perhaps does his most memorable work yet as the sleazy sheriff. It’s a role we’ve seen a thousand times before, but he puts a good spin on it.
Director Timo Tjahjanto, veteran of quite a few horror films, shows he can handle an action set piece, including a very memorable one on a “duck boat”; it’s a watery variation of the infamous bus fight from the original. The final showdown between Hutch and Lendina, staged in an amusement park, is another winner. Yes, a river of blood does cascade down a waterslide.
While the mood is a little lighter than in the original, this film isn’t quite as funny, but perhaps that’s because a bit of the novelty has worn off. This one is sort of like Vacation meets Walking Tall with a little bit of Jackie Chan thrown in.
Anytime I get a chance to see FF Woodycooks (that’s a Mr. Show reference), I’m in. I’m happy Odenkirk got to play the role again. It was pretty clear the first film was one of the best experiences of his career, and as a fan, I get a big kick out of him punching people and bleeding a lot onscreen.
Odenkirk has teased possible additional sequels. I hope he gets to do them. The box-office receipts for Nobody 2 will determine that—but if this is the conclusion of the Hutch saga, it’s ending on a decent note.
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