THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Sometimes, you have to take a stand when no one expects it.
PLOT
Nobody follows Hutch Mansell, a man who lives quietly with his family, working at a metal fabrication company with his in laws. His work life feels tedious to him and his marriage with his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) is deeply strained. One night, a burglar couple breaks into his home and while his son Blake (Gage Munroe) intervenes, he tells him to let them go in order to avoid casualties. They take his watch, along with a bowl of cash. After this incident, everyone around him looks at him as a failure for not intervening. He does talk to his brother Harry (RZA) on a hidden radio about it and shares that he spared them because he saw how desperate they were. He only decides to do something when his daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath) notices that her bracelet is missing. So he takes a gun and badge that belonged to his father David before making pursuit. He does find the burglar couple and gets his watch back, but doesn’t find the bracelet. He doesn’t demand for the money when noticing their sick baby. When he takes the bus home, he beats a group of five thugs, stopping them from harassing a woman. When getting information from ‘The Barber’ (Colin Salmon) he discovers that one of the thugs is the brother of Russian crime lord Yulian Kuznetsov. When he finds about what happened to his brother, he sends more underlings to take down Hutch. The protagonist does protect his family by hiding them, before being captured in the process. However, when he gets put back in the trunk of their car, he breaks free by setting off a fire extinguisher, which results in a car accident only he survives. When he returns home, he sends his family somewhere else safe and when he burns his house down, which’ll destroy any evidence, he finds his daughter’s bracelet by his stereo. Hutch has been capable of making it this far because he is a former assassin employed by intelligence agencies to kill untouchable figures, referred as the ‘auditor’. In his last mission, he let someone go and when seeing him turn his life around a year later, it inspired him to retire against the wishes of his superiors. Hutch immediately buys the fabrication company from his in laws with gold bricks. He then burns Yulian’s art collection and stash of money he was protecting for the mob; When he sees the crime lord in person, he gives them the choice to either come for him or walk away. Knowing that he’ll pick the first choice, he prepares for another fight by setting up traps all over his newly bought factory. When Yulian arrives with his army, Hutch is aided by David and Harry in the process. With every trap being effective and odds being at the protagonist’s favor, Yulian is the last foe standing. Hutch finishes the fight by charging at him with a claymore mine attached to a bulletproof shield, which ultimately kills him. When his father and brother escape, he gets arrested by authorities. But he is quickly let go when they get an unknown phone call that convinces them to do so. Three months later, he gets a phone call from his superiors that suggest his services are still required. The film ends in a mid credit scene, showing David and Harry making their way towards an undisclosed location with a heavy load of firearms.
THOUGHTS
When 2021 was reaching an end for me, I just wasn’t sure what to see next as I was trying to catch up on the year catalog. I had low expectations with this one because the poster was not convincing, but that was just another example of how books can never judged off of a cover. Director Ilya Naishuller, writer Derek Kolstad and producer David Leitch were able to surprise me big time with this one, as this was highly entertaining throughout. I am a sucker for action films and this one had arguably the best fight scenes of the year. Going from the bus fight to the factory shootout, each sequence was so wicked that my eyes were glued and I didn’t want it to end. This film was so effective to me because it teaches viewers how no matter how quiet you want to live, silence is not what gets rid of your problems and you need to do something about it if you want to be at peace. Of course, you wouldn't get this at all if you weren't following the perspective of Hutch Mansell. I always knew what a great actor Bob Odenkirk has been, but now I can say he's a badass actor as well after seeing this film. This is a guy that got burnt out with his line of work and just wanted to rest because he deserved it. After shedding so much blood, he wanted a change and got it, but it sadly didn't last long. When trouble came his way again, he realized that he couldn't ignore it forever. It took his daughter to take a stand because she was the only one that looked up to him and didn't think little of him. So when he tells the bus thugs "I'm gonna fuck you up", that was the final moment where he realized there was no going back. It is easy to compare him to John Wick because he is someone who stayed out of trouble until it came his way. So whether or not a sequel happens, it's clear that it'll take a while for him to get out again. Although Odenkirk carries this film, there were other cast members that caught my attention. Particularly speaking, Christopher Lloyd got me off guard as David. At first, he presents the guy as someone who's enjoying the deserving rest after working as an FBI agent in his prime. But when trouble came his way as well, he proves that age is just a number and proves to be about as capable as his son. This guy missed the action and enjoyed every second of it. At first it sounds psychotic, but Lloyd made it look awesome and funny to witness. The second he gets drop on his attackers with a shotgun, you just know things were gonna get better. Since he is now on the road with Harry, there is no telling where else could they encounter conflict. And lastly, Yulian can easily be depicted as a simple one off villain, but I believe Aleksey Serebryakov made him feel more than that. This guy had all the power and enjoyed every bit of it. But his fall that started with his brother showed that it didn’t last in his world and his desperation to stay on top was proven when continuing to go after Hutch. Although this was an absolute blast, I won’t deny that there were moments that got me confused. First off, how has Hutch always missed trash day every Tuesday? I relate to this experience because the guy only has solutions and doesn’t think of them, wake up earlier or have his son do it the night before. One simple thing can make life a little easier. I was even disturbed how a cop mocked him for not intervening. His son gets a pass because he’s disappointed firsthand, but a cop is supposed to save people and control the situation, not worsen it through mockery. And why did he hide the gun in the fridge? If he really wanted to avoid trouble, he would’ve thrown it away. I also wonder why would Hutch choose to do a morning run when he just glued up a knife wound. I feel like the sweat would open it all up. He’s probably done this before, but I don’t think that’s pain worth going through again. What really confused me a whole lot was how Hutch used his dad’s metro card when he doesn’t even need it since the latter resides in a nursing home. If it’s for a discount, I’d like to know. And why was there a fire extinguisher in the car when he got abducted? Cars can get caught on fire, but I don’t think Yulian’s guys were depending on that. If it was after his son borrowed the gun and badge, someone please clarify. That was just more odd than the fact that the henchmen chose to shoot him in his house when Yulian wanted him alive. And if you want to know what’s weirder, the neighborhood sleeps through the shootout, but wakes up when the house is on fire. I refuse to believe every house in that area is filled with heavy sleepers. And lastly, whose cat was that at the factory? Seeing that cat tripped me out because it had no reason to be there. Other than that, you’ll still have a good time. To wrap up, Nobody is a dope film for becoming bigger through simplicity. If you are an action lover like myself, don’t wait too long like myself.
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