R | 1h 29m | Comedy, Drama, Action, Crime | 2025
From a creative perspective, there’s little new under the sun when it comes to original movie content, and this is very evident within the action genre. If the film has some guns, explosions, car chases, fisticuffs, carnage, and maybe some skin, it will probably come up as an audience winner. A good story is always desirable, but not really necessary.
When it came out in March 2021, “Nobody” was one of the first major studio movies to be released in theaters in the post-pandemic era. This was a brilliant move on the part of Universal, although few knew it at the time.
Budgeted at $16 million, it was almost guaranteed to break even and, if not, it would be a minor loss by Hollywood standards.
They Called Saul
The studio cast Bob Odenkirk as the title character, aka Hutch Mansell, a boring suburban accountant. Best known previously for his work in sketch comedy, Odenkirk’s highest profile role up to that point was playing shyster lawyer Saul in the “Breaking Bad” TV franchise.It has been reported, though never confirmed, that Odenkirk received $1 million for starring in “Nobody.” That’s mere peanuts, relatively speaking.
The biggest thing going for the movie that it was written and produced by the brain trust behind the wildly successful “John Wick” franchise. So confident was Universal that this was the movie’s biggest draw, it included this information, not Odenkirk’s name, above the title on the movie poster.
All of these low-stakes gambles paid off. The movie ended up clearing $57 million at the worldwide box office, not quite four times its cost.
‘John Wick’ Writer Returns
As with “Nobody,” this sequel is co-penned by “John Wick” screenwriter Derek Kolstad. The film contains all of the elements of the first and other off-kilter action movies. It’s a Tarantino-revenge flick mixed with “Die Hard” and the first “RED.” The film is an amalgam that is at once thoroughly derivative and completely original. If you’re looking for something to take your mind off of everything while satisfying your blood lust and tickling your funny bone, this is your kind of movie.Odenkirk returns as Hutch, who is still married to the more successful real estate agent Becca (Connie Nielsen). They have a son Brady (Gage Munroe), who is fully into his “insolence of youth” phase. Neither Becca nor Brady respects Hutch very much. Only his daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath) holds him in any kind of esteem or regard.
Enter Stone
She would be the mononymed Lendina (Sharon Stone), a brash and ruthless crime kingpin; Lendina deals drugs, explosive, and biological weapons on the black market. Sporting a severe pulled-back hairdo, blue sunglasses (even at night or indoors), a full-length leather trench coat, and a miniature white bulldog, Lendina would be a great fit in the next James Bond flick.
“Nobody 2” has the same blueprint as “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983). Worried that his workaholic ways is threatening his family, he suggests a vacation to Plummerville, an amusement park in Wisconsin. As with Chevy Chase’s Wally World in “Vacation,” the mostly rundown Plummerville holds sentimental value to Hutch; he visited it as a child with adopted brother, Harry (RZA), and his father, David (Christopher Lloyd).
Creativity: 0, Action: 10
From a creative perspective, the filmmakers take zero chances. For this kind of movie, it’s probably a good idea. These movies aren’t appreciated because of their original stories, complex plots, or deep personal introspection. They exist and are mostly appreciated as vehicles to deliver nonstop action, lots of pyrotechnics, and bloody, in-your-face, and very well-choreographed cartoonish violence.My only big gripe with the movie was the casting of John Ortiz as the current theme park owner-operator and Colin Hanks as the corrupt town sheriff, both heavily under the thumb of Lendina. Both Ortiz and (nepo baby) Hanks are known for playing “good guys.” Despite their collective faux-bluster and manufactured bravado, they are thoroughly unconvincing as evil foils.
There aren’t many action movies with enough brains, blood, mirth, and style that can attract ages 18 to 80. For that reason alone, “Nobody 2” brings with it practically universal adult-audience appeal.
