Nobody 2: Nobody Does it Better

By Thom Ernst

Rating: B+

Nobody 2 is the kind of movie that practically begs to be reviewed in onomatopoeia. You could sum it up entirely in bold, oversized type: Pow! Smash! Sucker punch! — each accompanied by a slow-motion spray of debris, glass or blood.

Nearly every beat is an act of gleeful retribution: an insult answered with a head-butt; a shove countered by a jaw-snapping uppercut. It’s violence as choreography, choreography as crowd-pleasing spectacle. The rhythm is relentless, each fight scene stitched together with just enough plot to let the audience catch its breath before diving back into another orgy of face-pummeling justice.

And make no mistake — this is a summer movie. The kind that plants (and occasionally face-plants) audiences into the warm fantasy of life in full bloom: lounging in vacation spots, wearing loud Hawaiian shirts, draping beach wraps over sun-warmed shoulders, exuding youthful spirit no matter the date on your birth certificate.

Then — bang! — it bursts into the ultimate feel-good spectacle: the good guy’s victory and the bad guy’s complete obliteration, met with applause, fist pumps, and the kind of cheering usually reserved for underdog sports triumphs. Violence? Bloodshed? Death? Absolutely. It’s summer, the popcorn’s fresh, and we’ve paid good money to watch people get hurt.

Which brings us to the inevitable question: what makes Nobody 2 different from John Wick? The question isn’t just unavoidable — it’s practically in the film’s DNA. After all, Derek Kolstad, the man behind the first three John Wick scripts, also created and wrote Nobody.

Hutch (our “Nobody”) is, in many ways, Wick’s hick, unsophisticated cousin — less bespoke suit, more Walmart clearance rack. Both men are masters of acrobatic, multi-prop, creatively improvised weapons combat. Both leave behind a body count that would embarrass a warlord.

But the difference lies in character, or at least in vibe. Wick is suave, handsome, mysterious; a man who can kill three people with a pencil and make it look artful. Hutch, played by Bob Odenkirk, is… not that. He’s the guy with the bad haircut and the Costco membership, the weary look of someone deep in eternal midlife crisis.

You can picture him standing in a grocery aisle, debating the options between scented and unscented laundry detergent. He’s an everyman in cargo pants and a shapeless golf shirt, the standard-issue uniform of a mechanical parts salesman.

And that’s the hook. Nobody expects Hutch to be dangerous. He’s the sad-sack pushover you assume will cave when confronted with the first sign of intimidation, rebelling with nothing stronger than a grumbling protest whispered beneath his breath.

Which is exactly why he’s so much fun to watch when the bloodbath begins. Nobody’s charm lies in letting us imagine that we, too, could be absurdly competent killing machines, if only someone made us mad enough.

This time, Hutch recognizes his marriage, due to his long and unpredictable work hours as an assassin, is at risk. And so, he takes the family on holiday. His choice? A tacky, family-themed waterpark in the town of Plummerville, where his father (played with winking eccentricity by Christopher Lloyd) used to take him and his brother when they were kids. Inspired by a vintage commercial that has all the ostentatious crassness of a Saul Goodman ad.

Nobody 2 adopts a similar plot line that was once the mainstay of 80s revenge flicks starring actors with three names like Jan Michael Vincent and Joe Don Baker. Plummerville is no longer the haven of middle American charm. It’s now under the iron grip of Lendina (Sharon Stone), a gleeful psychopath who runs the place on a diet of fear, blackmail, and bloodshed.

Stone doesn’t just chew scenery, she devours it, purees it in a blender, and then feeds it into a woodchipper. In any other movie, it would be too much. Here, it’s exactly right.

Many familiar faces return from the first Nobody, including Hutch’s dedicated but long-suffering wife Becca (Connie Nielsen). Though Odenkirk anchors the film, director Timo Tjahjanto — making his English-language debut — gives Becca her arc, adding depth without slowing the carnage.

In the end, Nobody 2 is about gratification. The fantasy that the bad guys never stand a chance. That justice is swift, brutal, and delivered without hesitation. It’s not subtle, but then again, subtlety never gets a standing ovation. And maybe, this summer, we need that more than ever.

Nobody 2. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto. Starring stars Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, and Sharon Stone. In theatres August 15.