Anonymous
The John Wick-adjacent universe rumbles on.
Nobody 2
Director: Timo Tjahjanto • Writer: Aaron Rabin, Derek Kolstad
Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Sharon Stone, RZA, John Ortiz
USA • 1hr 29mins
Opens Hong Kong August 14 • IIB
Grade: B-
Indonesian filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto announced himself to the action world back in 2018 when The Night Comes for Us landed. Yeah, he made a couple of hokey horror films around the same time (May the Devil Take You and its sequel) and an action comedy (The Big 4), but it was really the bone-crunching, artery-spouting, eye-gouging mayhem of Night that made everyone sit up and take notice. He’s been caged by fuckin’ Netflix to this point, so it’s no surprise a director with Tjahjanto’s eye for lunatic action lured into the 87North Productions stable. Think that sounds familiar? It’s because if you’re into action, you’re well aware of stunt performer, director, producer and now tiny mogul David Leitch’s little action fiefdom, which now counts John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Bullet Train, Violent Night, The Fall Guy and Love Hurts among its nearly identical hit-and-miss credits. If you can call Atomic Blonde John Wick with a chick and so on and so forth, then 2021’s Nobody is John Wick in the suburbs.
Nobody 2 is Suburban Dad John Wick Goes On Family Vacation, as filtered through Tjahjanto’s brand of ornately planned fisticuffs. To 87North’s credit he joins under-the-radar directors like Jonathan Eusebio (Birds of Prey second unit), Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow) and Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry) in its army of modestly budgeted entertainments made for the cinema. Nobody 2 suffers for not being the surprise the first film was; it suffers for losing the novelty of seeing Better Call Saul’s schlumpy Bob Odenkirk as former CIA killer Hutch Mansell break out of a meely-mouthed family guy struggling to retain the respect of his family. But at a swift 89 minutes it’s hard to argue it’s not the perfect excuse for tuning in and dropping out. Outside your house.
The dad jokes are right there
Nobody 2 is creative in its murder, that’s for sure. Sometimes a bit too creative; it’s one of those movies where you say to yourself, “When did XX have time to prepare all that?” Whatever. This is fantasy as much as it’s action. We pick up with Hutch in the aftermath of his burning down millions of dollars in Russian mob money a few years ago (this is recapped in a handy flashback if you forgot, which is within your rights), and working off the debt that “we” paid. “We” is represented by the smooth as silk and way underused Colin Salmon as The Barber. But Hutch’s wife Becca (Connie Nielsen doing more this time), their son Brady (Gage Munroe) and practically invisible daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath) are tired of this new routine that keeps Hutch away from home all the time. So the Mansells decide a family vacay is needed, and off they go to the seriously old-school Plummerville amusement park town, complete with water park, arcade and corrupt small town sheriff’s department. The department is run by Wyatt Martin (John Ortiz), a good guy in a tough spot, and his more gleefully rotten deputy Abel (Colin Hanks). They both work for ruthless underworld crime lord Lendina, played by Sharon Stone eating every inch of the scenery she can find.
Nobody 2 is purpose-built to put Hutch in line of crime syndicate fire so that he can open a can of whup-ass on a bunch of fools and not much else. There’s some lip service paid to the example we set as parents and how parental behaviour impacts the next generation but that’s such a reach I think I just pulled a muscle. The meat of the movie is in its clever set pieces and weaponry call backs. Hmmm… Becca’s a crack shot that wins a plushie at the carnival. Will that be important later? Highlights this time around come on a elevator and a duckboat, and a few good one-liners and reactions from Hanks, some socks and sandals dad jokes, but it’s really the throwback nightmare of a themed motel that stands out. Where is this? Can I stay there? It’s magnificent in its weirdness. The cast is serviceable, and RZA and a nearly unintelligible Christopher Lloyd as Hutch’s brother Harry and father David return for the final throwdown, but it’s Stone that steals the show. She is beyond over the top and knows exactly what she’s doing and it’s great. It’s admittedly a very love-it-or-hate-it performance (Bad Guy Does a Wacky Dance scene? Check!) that’s going to inspire eye-rolling as much as it does fist-pumping, but I’m 100% Team Stone so to these eyes it’s the latter. This is a notch above a backyard cheapie so whether or not there’s a Nobody 3: The Family that Slays Together depends on how many of us opt to get out of the house.