Nobody (2021)

 

Looking for the most John Wick-like film without it actually being 'John Wick' and still be fun to watch? Then look no further than this little flick that truly does play with the 'unexpected badass' trope in a way that is sort of believable. 

I mean: truly no one would suspect a guy like Bob Odenkirk to be capable of taking out Russian mobsters by the dozens, right? 

Bob plays Hutch Mansell, a guy who is painfully average and just goes through the motions of daily life like so many of us. The film hammers this point home immediately. Unobtrusive, meak, silent Hutch who is a bit looked down upon by his eldest son, who is sort of but not really separated from his wife and who just tries to be the best person he can be. Things change when he and his family are the victims of a home invasion where eventually Hutch doesn't really do anything, but you can tell something is off. He starts to crack, especially when his young daughter is missing a bracelet and he assumes the crooks have taken it. It turns out this is not the case, but when a bunch of drunk ruffians enter the late night bus he's on, something snaps and he kicks their asses in a big way. 

But of course, one of those guys was the brother of a psychopath Russian mobster (are there any other?) and things truly start to hit the proverbial fan. 

See, it is revealed that Hutch used to be an auditor in the army, which in his case means a special operative who cleaned up operations that didn't comply. 

Yes, that means killing everyone and leaving no trace. 

Hutch is starting to enjoy his relapse a bit too much, but it all comes down to almost all out war between the Russians and him. Oh, and his dad and sort of half-brother, I suppose? 

This film keeps things short and sweet and never overstays its welcome. It doesn't take long for the action to kick into high gear and it doesn't let up until the very end. Luckily, the pretty brutal fights are peppered with some humour left and right and bizarrely Bob Odenkirk is scarily believable as a lethal operative, just because he doesn't look the part. It's called blending in and he also gets his backside handed to him at times, which makes for a better hero. You know: one that isn't invincible like our staples from the 80s?

Is it anything special? Maybe not. The fight scenes are brutal and gory and not shot in an almost poetic way like 'John Wick', but it still delivers the goods in spades and is a very enjoyable action flick with some fun twists and turns. So if you're up for some brutality, you could do a lot worse.