Nobody: Film Review

Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, RZA, Christopher Lloyd, Aleksey Serebryakov

Director: Ilya Naishuller

"Just a bit excessive, but glorious."

These are the words spoken in the final act of Ilya Naishuller's pulpy and tautly-executed dadsploitation thriller Nobody - and they're joyfully prescient and gleefully knowing about what has transpired for the past 80 minutes.

Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk stars as Hutch Mansell, a man ground down by routine and monotony who's become a Nobody in his home life and in his auditor role at a manufacturer's office. His lowered status takes a further beating when he refuses to intervene in a break-in at home, leading to mockery from his son, neighbour and colleagues.

When Hutch finds out a valuable item from his young daughter's been taken, he sets out to get justice, a break in his psyche fuelling his long pent-up rage. But he targets the wrong people and soon a clutch of Russian gangsters are on his tail - however, Hutch has a secret past nobody knows of - and a set of skills nobody would have expected this downtrodden suburban dad to possess....

There's a tautness of execution to Nobody that makes its John Wick-style violence feel like an 80s revenge thriller. 

But there's also a wry and comedic thread coursing through its veins, which helps the film feel a little more grounded, and believe it or not, ultimately more crowd-pleasing - especially in its warehouse Equalizer-echoing final act.

It helps that Odenkirk is a very affable presence on screen, and a very plausible later-in-life action hero. 

From selling the monotony of his life to the moment that breaks his character, Odenkirk is always understated, helping sell some of the more ludicrous edges of this unabashedly popcorn beat down. And he's never ferocious either, meaning there's more menace when he's called to exude it.

Director Naishuller puts together some well-choreographed action sequences that don't overstay their welcome and aren't too excessive in their brutality, though they are occasionally riddled with both ass-kickings and humour. Not once do they venture into overkill territory, something that keeps Nobody feeling like it has real stakes, despite its Don't get mad, get even edges.

You can tell Naishuller's taken some of the elements of Hardcore Henry's brutality and fused it with surprises to get the late night audiences on side - it shows, and that's no bad thing.

There's little deep to be had in Nobody, but there's tremendous joy in the way Odenkirk sells its premise, and how Naishuller helms the whole affair.

If the story hints at more, that's perhaps not a bad thing, but any sequels would have to work their socks off to reach the levels of surprise and adrenaline that Nobody achieves.

Perhaps this is best as a one and done, but my word, what a one and done to experience.