My dad has watched this movie at least 6 times and I have stumbled in and watched this with him about half as many times. Does that impact my opinion of this movie, having had to watch it for several dinners and in passing through the living room en route to the kitchen for a snack? Yes. Absolutely yes.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But I am tuckered out from this film.
But it’s still really good :D
Somewhat a cross between the Bourne Identity and Mission Impossible with the motivational dynamics of John Wick.
That. Makes sense to me, and to you too if you were to watch it as well. [which undeniably stems from the fact that David Leitch helped produce it, having directed John Wick and Atomic Blonde; and Derek Kolstad, known for creating and writing this movie and JW and frequently pumping out action films and shows].
You see, this is a great action movie. Quippy dialogue, fantastic chase sequences, and an impressive rebirth of a mild-mannered man all work together to make this a refreshing and fun rated-R flick.
Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is bored of his mundane life: working at his father-in-law’s metal company, going through every tedious motion of life, and coming home to a strained, if not dead, marriage.
Hutch is quite literally lightning in a bottle, these feelings of boredom and insecurity piling up, ready to explode in some way.
You’d think his family being robbed would be the inciting incident, but because of his training and greater-than-thou senses, he knows that the robbers can’t really do anything and lets them go, to the chagrin of his family.
The straw that actually broke the camel’s back was his daughter’s missing cat bracelet. Being emasculated in his home in front of his family, was not enough to break his restraint— but his daughter’s sad request for something long gone sparks his rage into an untamable beast.
And he. Goes. Ballistic. It’s a lot of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and then rising to the occasion, but what we learn throughout the movie is that Hutch is not a nobody by virtue, but by choice.
He is definitely somebody, just not anybody you’d want to know.
Motivations
My main annoyance with this film was based off the inciting incident, when Hutch decides to pursue the house thieves based on his daughter’s missing bracelet.
It seems so inconsequential for the terrible, gory, beautifully choregraphed violence that comes next.
Taking it into context with the beginning of the film and how Hutch is seen going through his mundane life with military precision and becoming more and more aggravated with its slow pace, the sudden change of pace and whirlwind of anger is somehow warranted.
Because Hutch is a calm and mild-mannered man. He takes hits on the cheek and offers up the other one and he is one to not rock the boat.
The reveal of his bloodlust and internal rage is magnificent because it contradicts the persona he has led us to believe in, but the catch is that the violence is carefully controlled and skilled.
He looks like an IT guy, the QB Chad in high school who settled down and married his high school sweetheart too early in life, the father who tries to be there for his kids, but always just about misses the mark every time.
But in actuality he is a trained, deadly assassin.
That’s pretty cool.
He’s kept his cover for this long, and he finally breaks because this is not the life he has religiously trained for and that makes me wonder if a leopard can ever really change its spots.
If we’re so trained to act and be a certain way, can we ever truly decide to be something different?
Because according to Hutch, the answer is no. But with a cherry on top and a smoking rifle on the side.
Fight Sequences
I love the choregraphed fight sequences. Much like the other movies aforementioned (AB and JW), the fighting isn’t clean and beautiful and crisp in a superhero-esque style.
In other action movies, especially Bond, there is a briskness to the fighting, a posing and effortlessness that makes it seem weirdly dance-like. Motion following motion but the protagonists dancing throughout the chaos of it all and coming out on the other side unscathed and just slightly annoyed.
The fight scenes here are violent and gritty. The protagonist takes some punches and dishes more out, but he is bloody and beaten as well.
He seems tired and breathes heavily, but that’s only to be expected. This is some serious cardio and if he isn’t at least a little bit winded, I’d call him out on steroids and a caffeine addiction.
The sanitation of violence that we see in other movies is not present here.
Here we are served the gore on a silver platter meant for heads.
One of many great fight scenes is the ending in Nobody. The environment is rigged to the high heavens, there are guns stashed everywhere, and miscellaneous booby traps littered at just the right spots to make a cacophony of gore and violence.
It goes fast, but it goes nicely with the climax of the movie. For all the random weaponry Hutch fashions out of everyday objects and the perfection with how death is dealt to his enemies, I would argue that this is the most realistic depiction of a fight scene [and no I am not willing to die on that hill].
Hutch has blood on his face and bandages on his hands, but don’t worry. He’s earned that. You should see what the other guys look like.
The Narrative Sandwich
I love when films utilize all aspects of the medium.
A movie is that rare form of art that is both audio and visual where both are used to tell a story. Sometimes that story is skewed more from one side to the other and that’s fine because we’re all just aiming to say something.
This film opens at the end.
This is vital because we see a banged up, bloodied, and badass looking Hutch in the opening sequence, but the immediate appearance of him after is dorky and boring and follows through on that for a good amount of time.
We see the duality of his character and we’re waiting through the slog of boredom until he becomes the character we were first introduced to.
The wait feels agonizingly long, but we sit through it with him, getting more angsty and irritated and feeling every bit as annoyed as Hutch does so that when he finally lets loose to be violent and spiteful, we are fucking excited.
The payoff feels great.
And now we have to sit through the rest of his poor decisions and badassery because he ends up accruing the wrath of a Russian mafia boss consequentially, and fights through a slog of mobsters with ingenuity and sass.
I was definitely waiting to see how it played out because of the randomness of the rising actions and because of the ending they teased at the beginning.
Flashbacks and flashforwards are tricky things because they run the risk of being too expository and therefore boring. In such a powerful and versatile medium, finding ways to tell the story without being too tongue in cheek is important. To me at least LOL
When we finally get to the opening scene at the end, it is well worth the wait. Kind of silly, definitely alpha chops, but ridiculously enjoyable.
Good points!
“If we’re so trained to act and be a certain way, can we ever truly decide to be something different?”—couldn’t agree more.
I liked Nobody because it’s a generic plot—but told in a slight new way.