Bob Odenkirk just turned 63. It was probably that he was 62 when this was filmed. But such raises the question: what is the upper age limit for an action hero … especially one who, say, looks his age? (Not, say, Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt.) I dunno the answer to that. And part of me is amuse and none of me is -as yet-horrified by Odenkirk playing an action hero. Mostly because that is precisely the point of the Nobody franchise: he doesn’t look like a guy who will put you in a hospital. But he is.
The question remains: How long do we buy this?
If you ever got impatient enough with MAX or HBO Max or whatever they’re calling it this week, you might have stumbled across Nobody, a movie with as apt a title as you’ll ever find. Hutch Mansell (Odenkirk) is a Nobody, a nothing family man with a similar amount of shit in his life as most family men. He has issues as a spouse, as a father, as a provider, as a role model. And, until that film, it seemed like he might have issues as a protector. Never judge a Saul by his necktie, huh? Turns out, Mr. Nobody is a one-man wrecking crew, and as impressive as he is at delivering a crushing blow, he also knows how to take a few, doesn’t he?
We’re a few years after Nobody and now Hutch needs a break from the black ops bone breaking to concentrate on the fam. It’s time for a vacation, people. How about Plummerville, a ubiquitous beach/amusement park town I went to as a kid. Sure, we’ve all been to one. Hutch promises his gang he’ll lay off the lethal shenanigans for the sake of the fam.
And that promise goes exactly as far as the arcade where his kids are bullied. To be fair, if some punk slapped my pre-pubescent daughter, I’d probably do something as well. Unfortunately, this opens a Pandora’s Box of pain as the corrupt local sheriff (Colin Hanks) and mob boss (Sharon Stone) combine forces to eliminate family Hutch. Geez, all he wanted was a vacation. And, naturally, Hutch is a little harder to eliminate than the locals guess. Hey, whatchagonnado?
I won’t say this plot seems contrived, but it does seem a little like: “We’re 
pushing exactly the buttons we need to get a rise out of Hutch.” I mean, I’ve been to a lot of amusement parks and I get ridesick long before I have the urge to kill anybody. And, lemme tell ya, urge #1 is gonna beat urge #2 every time. Yeah, we’ll root for the hero of Nobody 2, but mostly we can’t help thinking, “Why didn’t you just have a stay-cation?”
The gimmick still works. The Nobody franchise is all about a guy who looks like the poster child for Viagra taking down mob bosses. Obviously, this has appeal to all who have considered Viagra, no? Hutch isn’t going to have the smooth homicidal brilliance of The Equalizer, but perhaps that makes him a little more accessible – again, I’m sure this is part of the appeal. And the film isn’t dull, just a little contrived and a little “you’re gonna roll your eyes.” This review only exists so that somebody maybe will watch the first one which was a surprising gem.
There was once a trained killer called Hutch
In reality, he don’t look like much
But you press him, fella
He turns into Godzilla
And soon you’re gonna need a crutch
Rated R, 89 Minutes
Director: Timo Tjahjanto [That is one HELL of a surname. Generally, English doesn’t have to consider consonant combos of “tj” and “hj.”]
Writer: Derek Kolstad, Aaron Rabin
Genre: Family vacation!
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Impotent middle-aged men
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Mobsters
