Movie Review: Nobody

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

An excellent all out R rated action movie. 

If you have seen the previews then you know exactly what to except from this movie. There is no room for quietness or subtly, this is pure bloody action with a dark sense of humor. What makes this movie work so well is that it never takes itself too seriously. The filmmakers know what this is and exactly  what audiences want from it. And oh boy do they deliver!!! In a brisk 92 minutes movie fans get all the excitement they hope a film like this could bring. It should no surprise  to anybody that this film was written by Derek Kolstad, who worked on all three John Wick films. This movie shows again that he knows his way around an action film. The film centers around some big action set pieces and each one is perfectly set up and knows just when to go over the top and when to pull back to something less so (though I wouldn't call much of this film realistic). We all came to the theater to see the over the top moments, yet we need the more pulled back moments to make the over the top parts more fun (and boy are they) and to keep us having enough of an emotional connection to make the story work. This all creates a rollercoaster ride of a movie that is a sheer joy to watch. All of this is helped by excellent performances from  Bob Odenkirk, Aleksey Serebryakov and Christopher Lloyd (the whole cast does well, but the script lets these three show their talents off in a way that it doesn't for the rest of the cast). Bob Odenkirk is not somebody most of us would have cast as an action star of this type but he does very well. His performance is incredibly cool, tough and a lot of fun to watch, while at the same time giving a bit of unique everyman humanity to what could have been a bland cliché character. Aleksey Serebryakov is an excellent villain. This performance keeps him appropriately threatening as a man who can seem cool and calm one second and lash out in brutal unprovoked violence the next. Christopher Lloyd provides this movie with its funniest moments and kept the audience (in the theater I was in) laughing heartily. Speaking of humor among all the bloody violence is some really funny humor. While I wouldn't call this film a clear cut comedy, it has enough truly funny moments in it to have you leave with a smile on your face. 

The major fault of this film is the main character's wife and kids. These characters obviously only exist for plot reasons and have little personality outside of what the plot needs them to act like. One can't help but wish that the script gave them more in the way of personalities or even let them take more of a part in the movie's dark sense of humor. This film can also feel very similar to other movies you have seen before but you knew that going in. 

If you are an action movie fan you will have a blast watching Nobody.