Nobody (2021)    Universal/Action    RT: 92 minutes    Rated R (strong violence, bloody images, language throughout, brief drug use)    Director: Ilya Naishuller    Screenplay: Derek Kolstad    Music: David Buckley    Cinematography: Pawel Pogorzelski    Release date: March 26, 2021 (US)    Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Alexey Serebryakov, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Ironside, Colin Salmon, RZA, Billy MacLellan, Araya Mengesha, Gage Munroe, Paisley Cadorath, Aleksandr Pal, Humberly Gonzalez, Edsson Morales, J.P. Manoux, Adrian McLean, Ilya Naishuller, Sergey Shnurov, Joanne Rodriguez.    Box Office: $27.6M (US)/$57.5M (World)

Rating: ****

 In the hands of some hack director, Nobody probably would have been a generic action vehicle starring Liam Neeson or Bruce Willis. It wouldn’t be the first time either actor portrayed an ordinary family man with an extraordinary set of skills. At this point, they could just phone it in and nobody would know the difference. Maybe it’s time to give someone else a shot at the big time.

 Of all the working actors in Hollywood, Bob Odenkirk is one of the last I ever expected to see in the role of action hero. Director Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry) took a big chance casting the Breaking Bad co-star as the lead in Nobody, an insane kick-ass actioner that gives a tired genre a much-needed dose of adrenaline. It’s a gamble that pays off in a big way. Odenkirk nails it 100% as a too-passive suburbanite who takes on the Russian mob after they threaten his family.

 Naishuller starts things off by showing us the mundane life of the protagonist Hutch Mansell. Every day is pretty much the same. He jogs in the morning, takes the bus to a dull accounting job at his father-in-law’s metal fabrication company, comes home to a family that barely acknowledges him and goes to bed next to a wife (Nielsen, Wonder Woman) who’s more successful than him. Every Tuesday, he misses the trashmen by seconds. His unhappiness is palpable.

 One night, Hutch wakes up to find two masked intruders creeping around his home. He has a chance to put one of them down with a golf club, but backs down and lets them leave instead even though his teenage son Blake (Munroe, The Shack) has the other restrained. The story of his failure to take action gets around fast. Everybody thinks he’s a coward. It grates on him until his young daughter (Cadorath) tells him she can’t find her treasured kitty cat bracelet. That’s the last straw for Hutch. He pays a visit to his elderly father (Lloyd, Back to the Future) in a nursing home where he helps himself to his old FBI badge and gun. He then goes out on his own to track down the thieves and retrieve his stolen property. The outcome isn’t the desired one and he decides to go home. That’s when things really go sideways.

 While taking the bus home, a gang of thugs force their way on and start harassing a young woman. Hutch steps up to protect her and ends up beating the living hell out of every last one of them. I mean, he f***s them up BIG TIME! One of them turns out to be the younger brother of Russian mob boss Yulian (Serebryakov, Leviathan), a vicious sort who won’t rest until he finds Hutch and makes him pay. Thus, a war begins between Hutch and the whole damn Russian mob.

 Now for the twist which really isn’t all that surprising. Hints, like the half-brother (rapper RZA) Hutch secretly communicates with on a radio, are dropped throughout. Like the protagonist of A History of Violence, Hutch is a man with a violent past that he’s been trying to leave behind. As we all know, this is easier said than done. Sooner or later, something’s going to reawaken this dormant part of Hutch. When that happens, WATCH OUT! He is one man you do NOT want to screw with!

 One of the main things I enjoy about action movies of the 80s and 90s is that they favor action above all else. Today, there’s a tendency to complicate matters with byzantine plots, fancy CGI effects and characters with complex psychologies. What can’t we just keep it simple? It worked out well for titles like Commando, Cobra and Die Hard. To be fair, the John Wick movies get it right. Now we have Nobody which is the best new movie I’ve seen in over a year. It’s mad entertaining, especially after the villain makes the fatal mistake of messing with the hero’s family.

 Actually, the fun really begins with the aforementioned bus scene. It’s both exciting and a brilliant showcase for the superior fight choreography. For a change, the action isn’t overedited to the point of incomprehension. At the same time, it’s extremely OTT with the high body count (77) and a finale in which ordinary office equipment is transformed into instruments of death. One of my favorite moments in the finale is when the half-brother kills three guys with one bullet. It’s the same half-brother who swore not to come out of hiding to help Hutch if his beef with the Russians got out of hand. Come on, everybody knows a statement like that is complete BS the second it’s been said.

 There are many, MANY great scenes in Nobody. I like the bit where Hutch escapes from a car trunk with relative ease and walks away under his own power. This guy is a total bad ass, but he has a soft spot for the kitten he finds hiding in the ceiling after the final battle. It’s a lucky break for him as his daughter asked for one before all the trouble started. In the role, Odenkirk does great work. He plays his cards just right in making you believe he’s more than an ordinary guy pushed too far. You can tell there’s something lurking just beneath the passive façade. Lloyd is also great as Hutch’s old dad. Who knew the 82YO actor had it in him to take part in a big gun battle? Serebryakov is good as the vicious mobster with a colorful side to his personality. When he’s not out killing, he can be found on stage at his nightclub belting out a song with his young female singer.

 In addition to all else, Naishuller makes great use of music. I will never listen to Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker”, “The Impossible Dream” (Andy Williams) or “I Gotta Be Me” (Steve & Eydie) the same way again. I love EVERYTHING about Nobody from the non-stop strong violence to the smart but simple screenplay by Derek Kolstad (the John Wick movies). It’s tightly plotted and doesn’t take itself seriously at any time. It’s so much fun! I really hope it becomes a franchise. This Nobody really is something.