‘I’ ON CULTURE
As expected from the title, Nobody 2 is a sequel. So, while the premise is not particularly new, the people behind the movie had to make it bigger and bloodier than the first. The title refers to the main character, who in the first, pretty good, film refers to himself as “nobody” while being interrogated. The original, one of the first ones out after the worst of the pandemic, did OK at the box office and that was enough.
We find the main character Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) putting in long hours for a character called The Barber (Colin Salmon) as an assassin to pay off a debt he owes after destroying a Russian crime family in the first film. The work has pushed him away from his family, particularly his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen). So, he plans a family vacation to Plummerville, which has a big amusement park, agreeing with his wife that he will leave his life as “Nobody” behind him for a bit. His son Brady (Gage Munroe) gets into trouble for fighting another kid, Max (Lucius Hoyos), and the family is kicked out. But an employee smacks Hutch’s little daughter, and he beats the guy up. The owner of the park, Wyatt (John Ortiz), Max’s father, and a corrupt sheriff Abel (Colin Hanks) go after the family with the sheriff planning to kill them all.
To complicate matters, Hutch finds out from his brother Harry (RZA) that the park is part of a smuggling route that Wyatt has to pay off in order to operate. Wyatt’s son Max is kidnapped. That leads to many complications, as Lendina (Sharon Stone), who runs the route, has her own demands. Hutch gathers his own family to battle the forces of evil. And, well, see the film if you can’t figure out what happens.
Hutch is typical of many heroes in American films. The family man who basically is not interested in being a bully or even fighting until his own family is threatened. The prototype was Gary Cooper as Sheriff Will Kane in High Noon. And we have seen him so often. But Hutch stands out in many ways because of his imperfections. He makes mistakes that lead to more problems. In other words, he’s more like the rest of us.
The cast is very good. Odenkirk is at the center, and he shows the man in all his imperfections, but at the same time, he allows the strengths to come through in the quiet scenes, not just the very good actions scenes. Nielsen comes across as a strong foil for him. She is no doormat, and is as willing to stand up for what is right as much as her man. The rest of the family is also good. RZA plays well as the loyal adopted brother Harry, bringing an interesting blend of irony to the picture. Of course, Christopher Lloyd really takes over the screen as Hutch and Harry’s dad David, a former FBI agent. Gage Munroe as Hutch’s son and Lucius Hoyos as Max were also good.
John Ortiz is very good as the bad, but not in the long run all bad, villain. Colin Hanks fills that role very well. Sharon Stone played her villainous role over the top, which also worked well.
The action scenes were really good. Although I am reasonably certain that many of the modern tricks for creating disaster scenes were used, things felt real.
The biggest difference between this sequel and the original is that this film was turned into an action/comedy. It is funnier than the original, possibly because a theme park is a more relaxing place. Director Timo Tjahjanto changed the general motif. The first movie was sort of a takeoff of the John Wick films. This is a bit more of National Lampoon’s Vacation. It slows down for some nice comedy set pieces in between the action sequences. Hutch Mansell is a Clark Griswold with a tough guy interior. And he manages to mess up things just as readily. Happily, the film also allows time for the family to bond.
This is not a great film. But we all had a good time. The ending, a major battle, was almost worth the price of the tickets. And, of course, keep in mind it will be on pay TV shortly. But if you really want to go to the movies, you could do a lot worse.
