It’s pretty remarkable to consider how far Bob Odenkirk’s acting career has come since his days as a sketch comedian on HBO’s Mr. Show. After landing the plum role of Jimmy McGill, the shady lawyer in Breaking Bad who commanded his own spin-off series in Better Call Saul, Odenkirk has flashed bona fide dramatic acting chops in everything from Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and The Post to Alexander Payne’s Nebraska.
Even more impressive is Odenkirk’s credible transition as a one-man action hero in the 2-part film series created by John Wick‘s Derek Kolstad. Indeed, with John Wick 4 running its course into an overlong repetitive loop of mirthless, mind-numbing shootouts, the mordant humor featured in Odenkirk’s Nobody action series elevates the Kolstad formula and makes for a far more amusing and consistently entertaining product. But will there be a third franchise entry?
‘Nobody’ is Half as Short & Twice as Strong as ‘John Wick’
Written by John Wick franchise creator Derek Kolstad, Nobody refines the vengeful, vigilante action-thriller template through additive humor. Unlike the brooding, unfunny John Wick that is far too serious for its own good, Nobody relies on the witty charms of Bob Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell, a seemingly dull suburban dad held hostage by a boring daily routine. But when his daughter’s kitty-cat bracelet is stolen during a home invasion, Hutch’s true identity as a former elite government assassin comes to light, pressing him onto a vengeful path of destruction as he relentlessly pursues Russian mobsters to get that damn bracelet back.
Of all the riveting action set-pieces in the first Nobody film, few top the brutal bus bashing, in which Hutch single-handedly waylays a gaggle of drunkards with his bare hands. Between the harrowing realism of Odenkirk performing most of his own stunts after bulking up for the role, the hilarious slapstick humor of Hutch regaining his footing, and the hysterical one-liners Odenkirk delivers, Nobody adds a dose of much-needed levity sorely lacking in the John Wick movies.
With Nobody running for a brisk 92 minutes and its equally entertaining sequel, Nobody 2, running for 89, you can watch the entire franchise in nearly the same amount of time it takes to sit through the mercilessly droning John Wick 4 (169 minutes) alone. As such, Nobody is half as short and twice as strong, rarely saddled with a dull moment in its nonstop pace, keeping you glued to the screen from beginning to end with one viciously violent salvo after another.
Will There Be a ‘Nobody’ 3?
Before addressing the fate of the Nobody franchise, it’s worth drilling down on the crowd-pleasing appeal of Nobody 2. The action movie sequel finds Hutch taking his family to a low-rent amusement park for vacation, where he’s inevitably dragged into another bloody bout. Instead of Russian mobsters, Hutch brains and bashes his way through a throng of corrupt cops and overprotective locals, using such fun-filled theme park iconography such as arcade hammers and anvils to subdue his assailants.
Akin to the brutal bus fight in the original, a standout scene in Nobody 2 comes when Hutch is accosted by a horde of baddies on a duck boat during a wildlife tour. Using everything from the life jackets to wrangle an enemy to the boat’s anchor and fire extinguisher to thwart the attacking thugs, the hilarious dark humor organically springs from Hutch’s surroundings, giving the movie a fun, old-school vibe that harks back to the halcyon days of R-rated ’80s action movies.
Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention the wildly droll interplay between Hutch, his gun-toting father David (Christopher Lloyd), and his adopted, katana-wielding brother Harry (Rza). The sight of these three joining forces in both movies to kick, punch, stab, and shoot their way through an overpowering parade of goons is one of the main reasons why the killer comedy lands just as hard as the intense action.
While Universal has yet to officially green-light Nobody 3, Odenkirk has expressed interest in returning and has already begun laying out stories for a third and fourth film. As the studio continues to evaluate the commercial viability of the franchise moving forward, Nobody remains among the best action franchises of the decade.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
