Nobody

 Nobody
Starring Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Aleksei Serebryakov, Christopher Lloyd
Directed by Ilya Naishuller

There's hardly anyone in the world who doesn't wish that they were someone more daring and adventurous. So often we go through our daily mundane routines without experiencing anything exciting, anything that we see in our favorite action movies and television shows, but we also have that itch to do something outside of our comfort zones, and we often wonder what would happen in hypothetical scenarios. What would we do if someone broke into our home and threatened our family? What would we do if we saw an innocent person getting verbally accosted by a rowdy group of drunk Russians? Would we fight, or would we just sit back and watch it happen as a helpless citizen? "Nobody" looks to answer that question through the eyes of "John Everyman," a family man who goes through a boring, day-to-day routine, but who finds his life upended by a night of terror that reignites a fire inside of him to seek justice his own way.

Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is such a man, a married father of two who wakes up every day, takes the bus to work, misses trash day, and goes for a morning jog. Day in, day out, nothing changes - until two inexperienced burglars break into his home, and he has the chance to take them down, but he doesn't. He lets them get away to the chagrin of his son, who calls him a coward for not fighting back. He continues his routine until his daughter mentions that she's missing her favorite kitty cat bracelet, which Hutch thinks the burglars stole, and this sets him off. He tracks down the thieves and then gets into an altercation with a group of young Russian drunks on the bus ride home as they accost a young girl, resulting in him beating up all of them and putting them in the hospital.

Unbeknownst to him, one of the men is the brother of Russian mob boss Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksei Serebryakov), who thinks his brother was attacked by a rival mob - until he discovers that it's just a seemingly ordinary man. In his investigation, however, Yulian soon finds that Hutch is no ordinary nobody, and the feud between the two men slowly escalates to an all-out war between Hutch, his father David (Christopher Lloyd), his half-brother Harry (RZA), and the entire Russian mafia.

"Nobody" was written by Derek Kolstad, the same man who wrote the "John Wick" films, and it obviously shows: this film is essentially a John Wick film minus Keanu Reeves, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's action packed from start to finish, a lean, trim film that doesn't meander into the waters of boring backstory and exposition, but gets right to the action almost immediately, and doesn't let up til the very end. It's equal parts throwback to the classic action film genre and filled with modern-day edits and shots that makes it more exciting and visceral, all anchored by the committed, gritty performance by an actor best known for his comedic work and dramatic performances in television series "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul."

Bob Odenkirk devoted two years of his life to training for this role, and it clearly shows. He plays Hutch as a man with a dark past (he only says he was an "auditor," which always means it's something more than just a pencil-pusher), while also as a family man who has grown accustomed to being the nobody that everyone thinks he is - day by day doing the same robotic motions that've slowly worn down his life force. Even when he has the chance to protect his home, he fails to do so, resulting in him losing the respect of his son, but when he thinks the robbers took his daughter's favorite bracelet, his past returns and he becomes the trained assassin he used to be (even though it's a trial-by-fire as shown by the epic bus fighting sequence that shows he's a little rough around the edges). Odenkirk is best known for being a comedian, but he sheds any sort of humor to take on the facade of this trained killer, and it's a deeply personal connection: Odenkirk himself endured two burglaries at his home, one of which truly traumatized his family, and he used that in his performance. It was something entirely out of his wheelhouse and could've fallen flat, but he came off as a very believable and likable nobody, and if this featured some well-known action star like Bruce Willis, it would've been relegated to the bargain-bin at your local Wal-Mart.

The only other character worth of note here is Christopher "Doc Brown" Lloyd, who plays Hutch's equally tough father. He is a pure delight, a seemingly feeble older man who's anything but, and who adds a lot to the story in his short tenure in the picture. Other than that, the film focuses on Hutch and his vendetta to get his daughter's bracelet back, but soon escalates into a war with the Russian mafia after he beats down a group of drunk Russians on the bus, one of whom is the younger brother of the head of the Russian mafia. This sets into motion a war between Hutch, his family, and the Russian mafia, resulting in balls-to-the wall action nonstop, which provided a delightful viewing experience. Many action films overstuff their plots with backstories, subplots, and side characters while mitigating the action, but not here. We hear a little about Hutch's backstory, enough to know that he's more than capable of John Wick-ing his way through countless nameless Russian mafia drones, but that's it. His family serves as a plot device and nothing more. All we really know about Yulian is that his younger brother was beaten up, he's watching over the Russian mafia's retirement nest egg, and he has a lot of disposable men at his disposal. This leaves plenty of time for the action, which is exciting, well-edited, and filled with unique traps that'll make Kevin McCallister proud.

Using every minute of its time wisely, "Nobody" shows the world what it's like for a nobody to take action and stand up for himself and his own, supplying a non-stop action thrill-ride filled with exciting fights, invigorating chases, and a surprising turn for comedic actor Bob Odenkirk, who anchored this film perfectly.

The Score: A