Time Off

Film: Nobody 2
Format: Streaming video from Peacock on Fire!

One of the issues with modern action movies is that they have expanded in length over time. The genre used to be pretty straight forward. You could sit down with The Terminator or Predator and be out in under 2 hours, or go with Die Hard for a bit longer than two hours. The John Wick series is a solid example of what I’m talking about. The first film runs 101 minutes, the second is 122, the third is 131, and the fourth is a whopping 169. And why? Nobody 2 is a return to normalcy. It’s a tight 89 minutes including credits, and actually a touch shorter than the original film.

It helps to know the basics of the original film. Seeming average guy Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) has what seems like an average life but is distant from his family. In reality, he’s a former assassin, who gets dragged back into the life when he beats the snot out of someone who turns out to be connected. Mayhem ensues, and it is a glorious 90 minutes or so of absolute ass kicking. So here’s the sequel.

What we learn is that Hutch is still in the life, and not of his own choosing. He is now working for someone called The Barber (Colin Salmon), since his antics in the first film involved literally torching a fortune, and while his assassinations are paying off his debt, he still has millions to work off. The Barber is about to give him another assignment when Hutch tells him he needs a break. The job has further estranged him from his family, especially his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen). Hutch decides to take his family to Plummerville, Wisconsin, which is essentially a low-rent fictionalized version of the Dells.

And, of course, it all goes wrong. While at an arcade, Hutch’s son Brady (Gage Munroe) gives his extra tickets to a couple of girls hanging around. This angers Max Martin (Lucius Hoyos), who decides to attack Brady and destroy the stuffed animal Brady won for his younger sister Sammy (Paisley Cadorath). And, once again, it all goes to hell and Hutch and is family are told to leave by the local sheriff (Colin Hanks), who is ostensibly under the control of Wyatt Martin (John Ortiz), who runs the park.

Of course, the reality is that the whole thing is a criminal front run by a psychotic crime boss named Lendina (Sharon Stone), who reacts to this disruption by blaming Wyatt and kidnapping his son. When Hutch tries to make peace with the locals, he discovers the kidnapping and his better nature takes over once again, and war is declared on the family. The last half hour involves Hutch preparing for a siege with his new alliance with Wyatt and the assistance of his father (Christopher Lloyd) and his adopted brother Harry (RZA).

Look, Nobody 2 isn’t anyone’s idea of great cinema, and it’s not trying to be anything more than what it is, which is exactly the point. This is fun and ridiculous. It’s about 84 minutes of fistfights, guns, and explosions plus credits, and it’s not pretending to be anything more than a spectacle. In fact, it’s pretty refreshing that this isn’t a movie that is trying to save the world, teach the audience a meaningful lesson, or even give us a truncated trip through the Hero’s Journey.

It is, essentially, an action movie at its purest, most distilled form. A highly-trained assassin with extensive combat skills finds himself in a situation where the only way out is to basically kill everyone in front of him, and that’s what he does. And, more importantly, that’s exactly what we in the audience want him to do. Ideas like how much Hutch actually has to tell his kids about what he really does are unimportant. Given that he is constantly beaten up and loses the tip of a finger in the course of the film, one imagines that Hutch has to come clean at some point, but we’re not going to find out in the course of this film.

Best of all, Odenkirk is having a great time. He’s a renowned comic actor, showed off some more serious chops in Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul, and has now moved into the Liam Neeson stage of his career. Good on him. He makes this work specifically because he has great comic timing, and that works for any action hero. Sometimes, you just want to turn your brain off. These films are perfect for exactly that, and as a bonus, you can watch both Nobody and Nobody 2 in about as much time as it takes to watch John Wick 4 if you decide to skip over the credits. It’s fun, it’s mindless, and it’s done in about as much time as it takes to make and bake a pound cake. What’s not to love?

Why to watch Nobody 2: Bread and circuses.
Why not to watch: If you don’t like pure action movies and fight sequences, there’s nothing here for you.