You often hear it said that Tom Cruise is the hardest working actor in Hollywood. I don’t want to take anything away from Cruise, but I’d like to nominate Bob Odenkirk for the title. Yes, that Bob Odenkirk from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame. He’s been wanting to do an action film through most of his career, and it would appear to have been a rather farfetched idea at best. But he buddied up to the guys at 87North and 87Eleven Productions. Those are the stunt folks who brought us films like the John Wick series. They didn’t laugh at the idea. So Odenkirk trained for four years starting in 2017 to build up his body and learn to do all of those action stunts. The reward came in 2021 with the release of Nobody. It was an action/comedy that gave us the kind of stuff you might expect from a John Wick group. The film didn’t make money because it was released while most folks were staying away from places like the local movie theater because of the COVID pandemic. Later the film caught fire on streaming and home video release, and so a sequel was a no-brainer. Except that Bob Odenkirk, while filming the final season of Better Call Saul, suffered a major heart attack that stalled that production and would appear to negate any chance of the actor going through that much physical punishment … except it didn’t. The actor went full speed ahead, and the result is Nobody 2, now out on UHD Blu-ray in 4K from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, and you should check both films out if you’re new to this franchise.
In the first film we’re introduced to Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell. He’s stuck in a dreary cookie-cutter daily existence. He works for his father-in-law as an accountant, and his family pretty much ignores him. To make it worse, he is embarrassed when his house is invaded one night and his son is tougher than he is. Now the world looks at him as if he were a wimp. But that’s exactly what he wants the world to think … or does he? In the military he was an auditor, hence the current bookkeeping job. But when he goes to face the crooks who terrorized his family he ends up walking into a busload of Russian mobsters terrorizing a city bus. We soon discover that he has mad fighting skills and that auditor job in the military didn’t have anything to do with bookkeeping or numbers. He was an assassin for the government and now they’ve forced him to show his hand. He ended up burning the mob’s $30 million stash and that ends up being another problem.
Enter Nobody 2. We get the same kind of opening you saw in the first film. It starts at the end where he is pretty bloody and beaten. This time he has a wolf/dog instead of a cat. My Siberian husky’s contribution to the review is that it was a huge upgrade. Of course he starts to tell his story to the detectives and, once again, away we go.
We then get the same kind of daily montage as we did before. But this time it’s not such a dreary life. He is balancing his family life with the life of an action hero working for the Barber (Salmon) to pay off the $30 million debt he owes them because they paid off the Russian mob to save his hide. But it’s starting to take a toll, and he demands some time off to take his family on a nice, peaceful family vacation. We know how this is going to work out, yeah?
They go to an old resort that Hutch’s father, played by Christopher Lloyd, took the family to once, and he had some great memories of the place. It’s called Plumerville, and it’s kind of like South of the Border. A self-contained little spot with the world’s first, which now means the world’s oldest, water park. Dad decides to stay at a “lodge” he has on the property with Hutch, his wife Becca, played by Connie Nielsen, and their kids Brady (Munroe) and Sammy (Cadorath). As you likely suspected, it doesn’t take long for trouble to start. At the arcade the locals get a bit rough, and a fight breaks out. Hutch injures a teen who happens to be the son of the local big shot. He runs the town and the many illegal activities there. He’s Wyatt Martin, and he’s played by John Oritz. Then there’s Sheriff Abel, played by the usually-good-guy Colin Hanks. It doesn’t take long for the heavy guns to start firing.
We learn that this is really the hub of a syndicate run by the ruthless Lendina, played by Sharon Stone. It’s also a little possible that Hutch’s father knew about the trouble here, and that’s why the family came here many years ago.
The entire family of actors return here, including a now 86-year-old Christopher Lloyd, who really hasn’t lost that wit of his even a little bit. Of course, he’s not doing a lot of stunts, but he has a ton of spunk as the family sets up more booby traps to have a final showdown with Lendina much as we had in the first film, which includes bringing back his brother Harry, played again by RZA.
It’s obvious that Odenkirk really hasn’t missed a beat here, and he wasn’t slowed down by that pesky heart attack thing. In the extras you can see how hard he’s really working, taking a page right out of Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves. In fact there’s even more action in this film than there was in the first one. It’s a little darker but still holds plenty of laughs. The stunt work is top-of-the-game stuff, and you’ll see a ton of blood and property destruction.
It’s true there is all of that spectacle to behold here, but honestly it’s Bob Odenkirk who truly carries the film. You totally believe he’s a guy who just wants a quiet family vacation, and as Michael Corleone once said, they keep pulling him back in. Odenkirk sells it, or the movie would be just another destruction feast, and we’ve seen thousands of those already. What can you say about a guy who is pounding a villain’s head into broken glass and the ground while telling him he’s on vacation? I believe every word of it. There hasn’t been a reluctant action character like him. Hutch ends up burning another syndicate’s money, and so I hope that means more debt and another shot at peace and quiet for Hutch and the family. I’m in.
Video
Nobody 2 is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The ultra-high-definition 2160p image is arrived at by an HEVC codec with an average bitrate of 60 mbps. The ultra high definition comes from a native 4K shoot and digital intermediary, so this is not an upconvert. The HDR and Dolby Vision here get a chance to truly pop. There are vibrant colors in this world, particularly when they get to the vacation resort. Black levels are outstanding, and you get a few nice chances to witness that work. When we first meet Sharon Stone’s character, it’s in the shadows, and pretty much so is that final confrontation. The shadow definition here really works. Contrast brings that climax to life with brilliant fire flashes against a dark inky sky. There’s no bleed going on here. Detail is nice, and you gotta love those tight facial close-ups which bring wonderful authenticity to these characters.
Audio
The Dolby Atmos audio presentation defaults to 7.1. The surrounds are aggressive during the action scenes as you’re completely surrounded by the action and it’s coming at you from all directions, and I looked over my shoulder a couple of times. Subs help add depth to everything from the dialog to the score as well as the expected explosions. There are quieter moments here, and they stand out in stark contrast to the action, giving you a chance here and there to take a little breath. Throughout all of this mayhem, the dialog always cuts through clear and distinct.
Special Features
The extras are found one on each disc. There is a UHD and Blu-ray copy of the film.
Deleted Scenes: (8:29) There are eight scenes with a play-all option.
Nobody 2 – The Fight Continues: (11:28) You really have to see this to appreciate everything Odenkirk is doing here. You’ll get a nice behind-the-scenes look at it here.
Nobody Does Stunts Like Us: (12:26) More of a look at the action.
Final Thoughts:
I like a good underdog story. Who doesn’t? With this movie I get it in the film itself and with the journey of the actor himself. It’s unfortunate that the first film came out when it did, but it’s nice to see something that gets appreciated through home video. This isn’t the first movie to find a second life here, and it won’t be the last. Then with Odenkirk’s heart attack, there wasn’t even certainty that the series would get to finish out. I certainly didn’t expect he’d be back to a regimen like this, and so soon. There are already rumors that a third is already being written. If it’s half as good as the first two, all I can say is “Oh my.”
