MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Action Thriller/Stars: Bob Odenkirk, Aleksei Serebryakov, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Ironside, Colin Salmon, RZA, Billy MacLellan, Gage Munroe, Paisley Cadorath, Aleksandr Pal, Araya Mengesha, Daniel Bernhardt, Alain Moussi, J. P. Manoux/Runtime: 92 minutes

I think it is a fairly safe statement to make dear reader that if you really take a moment to think about it the narrative hook of “ordinary guy cutting loose and kicking some serious bad guy butt” present in cinema really isn’t that difficult to accept. So then, you might be wondering, why is this one narrative hook that can be quite hard to pull off successfully at times? Well dear reader I think it has more to do with who exactly a movie working with this hook decides to cast as this so-called “ordinary guy”. I mean nothing personal, and I love these guys as actors, but who in their right mind would see Sly Stallone, Chuck Norris, or Charles Bronson and think “yep! Totally perfect casting for a down to Earth and very meek kind of guy right there”? The reason I bring this up to you dear reader is because it is that thought process which operates as the fairly sly narrative hook behind the slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today, 2021’s Nobody. A giddily gonzo cinematic action ride that manages to provide in the titular role not some toughie masquerading as a slightly meek and dweeby type, but rather Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk. A bit of a headscratcher really because, sketch-comedy background aside, Odenkirk doesn’t really seem to possess neither the physicality or even the demeanor of someone you would consider to be an “action hero”. Yet rather than operating to this slice of cinema’s detriment, we see that this actually makes this film all the more engaging and even, dare I say, believable as a result. Suffice it to say that it might have some issues it is saddled with, but overall I really did dig the heck out of this movie dear reader. Indeed, it might be slightly skimpy on its runtime, but the work done behind the camera is electrifying and the work done in front of the camera by the talented cast of players assembled is also fairly well-done despite the aforementioned way too short runtime and a severe lack of exposition-style material to really flesh them out in any meaningful way. Thus, in the style of something like John Wick, Nobody “2021” is a rollicking and engagingly fun little movie that I promise you will enjoy no matter if it is your first or your 51st time watching it.

The plot is as follows: Following a prologue that I shan’t spoil for you here, Nobody gets its thrilling story underway by introducing us to a man by the name of Hutch Mansell. Hutch, we soon perceive, is who the people behind the dictionary must have been thinking of when they came up with the word “mundane” or even, dare I say “dweeby”. Indeed not only does this guy have the most typical, run of the mill life possible right down to a 9-5 job at his father-in-law’s company, but his marriage is on the ropes and even his own kids have trouble taking him seriously to say nothing of everyone else. Of course, this is sure to lead to some complications and it isn’t long before such a complication comes in the form of a pair of thieves deciding to break into his home one night. Yet despite Hutch and his son getting the jump on them we see that Hutch inexplicably decides to let the thieves go which sees his son get violently assaulted by one of them. After doing that, we soon see that the pair of thieves make off not only with our hero’s watch, but also his daughter’s treasured “kitty-cat” bracelet and it isn’t long before the incident has caused everyone in his life, right down to the cops investigating the crime, to look down on him for being what they perceive to be a complete and utter failure. Not just as a father or husband, but as a human being period.  Of course, what they have no way of knowing is that the incident has managed to reawaken a part of Hutch that had long been dormant. You see dear reader, there was another word that could also have been written to describe our main hero here. That being “purposefully reserved”. A reservedness incidentally that soon erupts when, following his hunting down of the people who broke into his family’s home, our intrepid hero finds himself getting in a brawl on a bus with a group of Russian punks. A brawl that we witness sees our hero *surprise surprise* proceeding to completely and utterly wipe the floor with all of them though not without getting a few licks of his own in the process and then walking away into the night. Now normally this might be the end of the story in most cases, but in this case it most certainly isn’t. This is because, unbeknownst to Hutch, one of the punks he beat up is the younger brother of a nefarious Russian crime lord and now Hutch has walked smack dab into the middle of a bloody conflict. One that, by the time it’s over, will see secrets revealed, plenty of bad guy butt kicked, and hopefully result in our hero being able to reclaim the love and respect of his family once more……

Now right away I guess I should tell you that if you are seeing more than a few similarities between this slice of cinema and another franchise involving some dog-avenging hitman by the name of John Wick what with the whole “guy with the hidden past” and “vengeful Russian mafia” bits and all then that definitely is not a coincidence since some of the key people on that one also worked on this. Even with that comparison firmly in mind though, there is no denying that the work done behind the camera here is also really freaking good. This starts with the work done by the cinematography department which is just magnificent. Not just in making the brutality on screen look quite stylish yet extremely visceral at the same time, but also in the utilization of handheld cameras during a lot of the action beats to really help place us, the movie goers, in the midst of everything going on. It also doesn’t hurt this slice of cinema in the least that it also happens to come equipped with a quite eclectic yet still rocking soundtrack that I promise not only enhances what you are seeing unfold on screen before you remarkably well, but will also most assuredly have you jamming out at least once during this slice of cinema’s runtime. Of course, even with such terrific work by the cinematography and musical accompaniment departments on display, there was one area behind the camera that I did have a fair bit of apprehension about. That being the person who this slice of cinema has chosen to occupy the director’s chair, one Ilya Naishuller. Now I would like to make it clear: it is not a personal hatred or dislike for this helmer that made me apprehensive about him taking this movie on. Rather, it’s the fact that at best I was mixed about his first movie, the 2015 entirely in first person Hardcore Henry and at worst I had a migraine for about 3 days after I saw it and I really didn’t want to go through that again with this. Thankfully, that is not the case with this movie and it didn’t take too long into the movie for the director to genuinely impress me with his work here. Indeed, by operating off a particularly well-done script from Derek Kolstad, we see that Naishuller not only is able to ensure this slice of cinema is lively from beginning to end, but that all the elements, but that he also doesn’t engage even once in the elements which drove me nuts about Hardcore Henry. Suffice it to say that with this slice of cinema it really is quite evident that this young man has really come into his own as a film helmer and I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.  Suffice it to say that in terms of the work done behind the camera it really does a wonderful job of reeling you in right from frame one and then keeping you hooked until at long last the credits begin to roll…..

Of course, the other big component that helps this slice of cinema work on the level that it is ultimately able to reach would be the work done by the immensely talented cast of players in front of the camera. This obviously starts with none other than Bob Odenkirk in the lead role and honestly he is phenomenal here. Both in the scenes where he is engaged in being the most unlikely action hero since Keanu Reeves decided to get revenge for his murdered dog, but also in the moments where he gets to show off his acting chops as well as his wonderfully sardonic sense of humor (especially with voice-over lines talking about how Hutch hopes that the thugs he is about to wipe the floor with have a fondness for hospital food). Suffice it to say that this might be some of the weirdest casting for someone kicking some serious bad guy butt since Dustin Hoffman in 1971’s Straw Dogs (or even James Marsden in the 2011 remake of that movie too come to think…), but there is no denying that Odenkirk manages to take the role and make it his own. Not just in the scenes where he is this unassuming slightly dweeby guy, but also in the moments where he is just laying out bad guys left and right. Now there are a pair of co-starring roles in this that I would definitely like to highlight above the others. The first of those being none other than Christopher freaking Lloyd in the role of Hutch’s dear ol’ pop David. Indeed this is another brilliant bit of casting because, much like Odenkirk, you wouldn’t think of putting Doc Brown from Back to the Future in a slice of cinema like this. However that doubt just manages to work to both the film as well as Lloyd’s advantage and trust me when I say that the work he does in this, and the things that his character does, will most assuredly have you smiling with a twisted glee because you never thought you would get to see this icon of the screen get to do the things that he does here. The other role is noted rapper/actor/director RZA as a guy from Hutch’s past named Harry and he too is pretty sweet in this. Yes, he starts out as just the typical “voice on the phone”-type part you have seen in countless other action movies like this, but by the end when he finally appears in the flesh RZA actually does do a good job at bringing this character to life complete with a dry wit that matches up with Odenkirk’s sardonic sense of humor perfectly. Suffice it to say that when you also factor in terrific albeit lesser written efforts from such talents as a wonderfully flamboyant yet genuinely menacing Aleksei Serebryakov as the film’s main villain Yulian Kuznetsov, Connie Nielsen as Hutch’s wife Becca, Gage Munroe as his son Blake, the always wonderful Michael Ironside as his boss/father-in-law Eddie, and even iconic British character actor Colin Salmon in a scene-stealing cameo as an associate from Hutch’s past to name but a few it’s clear to me that this slice of cinema may have its issues, but the work from the cast is certainly not one of them even if the majority could have used a bit more in terms of exposition in order to flesh out their characters on the level that Odenkirk is able to get with Hutch.

All in all is Nobody a perfect slice of cinema? Not by any stretch of the imagination. At the same time though, does that mean this is one movie that deserves to be seen in the same light (at least initially) as its protagonist? Absolutely not dear reader! Indeed there is a phrase that I have definitely heard before and which I think applies here as well. That being that appearances can most assuredly be deceiving. Trust me when I say that is definitely the case here. Yes the movie’s runtime is not as long as I felt it easily could have been and no the majority of the cast does not get nearly as much in terms of expository material to really sculpt and mold their characters beyond a few key details that we really need to know about them. Even with those detriments in mind though, there is no denying that the action beats are a fantastic mix of appropriately visceral, wonderfully creative, and incredibly filmed to say nothing of the fact that the music is on point, the helmsmanship is fairly solid, and the work by the cast of players in front of the camera (with particular regard to a phenomenal Bob Odenkirk in the leading role) isn’t really all that bad even with the aforementioned detriment in mind. Thus no Nobody “2021” might not be a perfect slice of cinema by any means, but this is still one movie that, much like its protagonist, you should definitely take notice of and give a chance to show you what it is capable of. Trust me when I say that you will definitely not regret it.  Make of that dear reader what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give Nobody “2021” a solid 3.5 out of 5.