Posted in: Kaitlyn Booth, Movies, Review, Universal | Tagged: nobody 2, Review, universal

Nobody 2 Review: All Killer, No Filler, and a Funny, Bloody Good Time

Nobody 2 is a perfect example of how far good directing, stunt choreography, editing, and action can take you with a bare bones plot.

Nobody 2 is just as good as the first one, with top-tier stuntwork, editing, and directing that lead to a bloody, surprising, funny good time at the movies.

Director: Timo Tjahjanto
Summary: Suburban dad Hutch Mansell, a former lethal assassin, is pulled back into his violent past after thwarting a home invasion, setting off a chain of events that unravels secrets about his wife Becca's past and his own.

Universal had a sweet little one-two punch coming out of the pandemic, and we got two new action movies that were worthy of sequels one after the other. Nobody was the first one out of the gate, and while many compared it to the John Wick films, a closer comparison would have been the Denzel Washington-led Equalizer films. Both protagonists make excellent use of the objects around them to take out a bunch of bad guys in very violent ways. While the Equalizer films were playing the concept pretty straight, Nobody and Nobody 2 are here for a good time, not a serious one. Clocking in at a nice 89 minutes, the movie hits the ground running and doesn't stop until the credits roll.

When it comes to action movies, there are a lot of moving pieces that have to come together to make a scene work. Almost anyone can throw together an all right action scene, but it takes real skill on every level to create excellent action scenes, and that is the work you see in Nobody 2. Aside from a bit too much shaky cam, every scene is incredibly well done on every level. Star Bob Odenkirk admitted that he had started stunt and fight training for the first film and then kept going. He's putting in 110% into this film, and they are taking advantage of it. However, they are also taking advantage of how ridiculous all of this is and amping up the situational comedy via Odenkick's performance and great editing. Nobody 2 isn't just a fun movie; it's a funny one, and it's having so much more fun in one set piece than any of the John Wick or Equalizer films put together.

Odenkirk isn't the only cast member who is having fun. Sharon Stone as our villain, Lendina, who must have gained a significant amount of weight from chewing all of that scenery. She steals every scene she's in, and if the movie has any flaws, it's that we don't have more time with her. It's good to see Stone on the big screen again, full stop, but this kind of cold-blooded insanity in an older woman is not something we get to see very often. Connie Nielsen also has a much bigger role this time around, and, much like Stone and Lendina, Becca is an excellent character that we don't get nearly enough of. When one of the criticisms you get is, "this was so good it was bad that there wasn't more," you're certainly doing something right.

If it seems like we aren't mentioning the story of Nobody 2, it's because it's barely there and not really relevant. Hutch goes on vacation with his family after his relationship is strained following the events of the last film. He's been doing jobs to pay off his debts, and it's cutting into his time with his family. However, shenanigans happen and things keep escalating, and before you know it, Hutch is rigging up an amusement park with traps and weapons like the bloodthirsty version of the kid from Home Alone, while Christopher Lloyd sets up a mini gun in a lifeguard tower.

The journey we're going on is the family all finding their way back to each other, while Stone acts like the most insane mob boss you've ever met. It's incredibly basic, but that simplicity means that nothing gets in the way. We briskly move from one set piece to another with the bare bones of the plot connecting all of it together. We're only here for 89 minutes, and Nobody 2 has a lot of creative kills they need to get to; there isn't much time to make a plot with a ton of depth or add any John Wick-like worldbuilding. 

Nobody 2 is a perfect example of how far good directing, stunt choreography, editing, and action can take you with a bare bones plot. August is usually a dead zone where nothing of any substance is released. Nobody 2 might not have a ton of substance, but it is a ton of fun, and as the summer heat reaches its peak before it finally starts to cool down, this is another welcome addition to the lineup. We can hope that this film gets the support it deserves and Universal keeps greenlighting sequels because damn good without remaking the wheel is a vital part of the film ecosystem.

Nobody 2

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Review by Kaitlyn Booth

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8.5/10

Nobody 2 is just as good as the first one, with top-tier stuntwork, editing, and directing that lead to a bloody, surprising, funny good time at the movies.

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