Movie Review: Nobody (2021)

Nobody directed by Ilya Naishuller

As his home is robbed by a desperate couple, Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) has the chance to take them down. Instead, he lets them go with his watch and some petty cash. At least, that's what he thinks they took until his daughter asks the next morning for her kitty bracelet which is missing and was with the petty cash on the counter. Hutch spent the whole previous night taking flak from people (his wife, his son, the cops, the neighbor) about not taking down the bad guys when he had the chance. He's already been shown as a highly-scheduled, run-of-the-mill accountant for his father-in-law's company, basically a boring family man. But his daughter is unhappy so he decides to follow the one clue (a tattoo on the woman's wrist) to get her prized possession back. With a small handgun, he goes from tattoo parlor to tattoo parlor. The search spirals out of control as he becomes involved in a much larger conflict with the Russian mafia. A conflict with much larger knives, guns, and explosives. 

The movie builds up the action as it goes, from at-home fisticuffs to a big, heavily-armed finale. The realistic beginning also gives way to more fantastic and outlandish revelations, turning it into an ultra-violent cartoon with Home Alone-style booby traps and fist-pumping. The action sequences are well done and exciting, making it feel like a summer action flick like Die Hard or Speed. Odenkirk is better at being the nebbishy family man than the vigilante/one-man-army that his character turns into. He doesn't have the charisma of Bruce Willis or Keanu Reeves. He's not bad but he's not an action star either. Maybe he'll grow into it like Liam Neeson has. The movie is fun but don't think about it.

Mildly recommended--I watched this once and enjoyed it but probably won't revisit it.