“Nobody” is Just a Really Good Movie

Cover of Nobody from Amazon.com

*There will be spoilers

Nobody 2 will hit American theaters Friday, August 15th. With part two hitting theaters, we need to remember what made part one so good in the first place. In the movie, legendary actor Bob Odenkirk stars as mysterious family Hutch Mansell. After his family is robbed in their home at gunpoint, he goes on a rampage, and what an epic rampage it is. Filled with fistfights and gunfights to match, Nobody is just a really good movie pushing no political agenda.

At the beginning of the movie, we see Hutch Mansell living the everyday life of a hard-working man. He goes to work, does his job and takes care of his family. Every so often, he throws his hands up after missing the garbage truck. His daughter falls asleep in his arms. His son, however, has issues with his father. Although we, the audience, don’t know exactly who Hutch is, his wife knows at least something.

It is with this backdrop of a happy(ish) family we are introduced to Hutch. This happiness is shattered when a man and woman break into their home. Amid the robbery, Hutch’s son tackles the male home invader. This causes the female to focus her attention on Hutch’s son and the robber.

With her back to him, Hutch has the perfect opportunity to take her down. But something in him breaks through the rage, and he orders his son to let the man up. His son does so begrudgingly and is rewarded with a punch to the face by the man. During the chaos, Hutch memorizes a tattoo on the wrist of one of the robbers.

After the robbery, Hutch’s son tells him he could have stopped the home invaders, and Hutch looks away in guilt. It gets worse when his next door neighbor says he wish the robbers had come to his home. These encounters from multiple people leave Hutch frustrated and doubting himself for not taking action. Any man would feel this way, so he’s relatable.

Feeling down on himself, Hutch leaves work and heads home. When he opens the door, his family is in the dining room. His daughter asks him where her bracelet is, and he realizes it must have been in a bowl of money taken by the home invaders. This is the final straw. He snaps. The rest is glorious history.

This movie could have been shot in the 90s or early-to-mid 2000s. We don’t know Hutch’s political affiliation or his son’s sexuality. Hutch doesn’t struggle with addressing his “toxic” masculinity. He works, goes home, loves on his wife and takes care of his kids. Yet he’s so much more.

Hilariously, we find out most about his past from a speech he delivers to a dying man and another he gives to a collection of men he’s killed. When Hutch’s name is run by someone working for the criminal boss pursuing Hutch, she quits. She tosses the boss some redacted FBI files about Hutch and vacates the premises.

The action in this movie is epic and sometimes over the top. It gets gruesome. And it’s beautiful. What gets your adrenaline pumping like watching the good guy deliver as many punches as he takes? He’s kicked, thrown through a bus window and otherwise brutalized. He isn’t untouchable, but he is determined.

Still, Hutch’s going to find the home invaders to get his daughter’s missing necklace was a faux pas. We find this out during the second home invasion where Hutch kills the Russians. He ends up finding his daughter’s necklace under a couch. So, when his daughter had asked where her necklace was, he would have saved himself some trouble had he looked around the house instead of immediately storming out of the door.

At the end of the day, Hutch’s only motivation in this movie was protecting his family. He left his house to get his daughter’s necklace back, and it escalated to a Russian crime syndicate trying to murder him and endangering his family. The plot is straightforward, and Hutch’s motivations are clear. This movie isn’t going to break a record for originality. But it can break a record in bringing back the essence of what movies used to be before whatever this era made them.

Acknowledging that, Nobody 2 doesn’t have to do anything more than part one has: provide exhilarating entertainment. But also build out the character of Hutch Mansell more.

Although we, the audience, know some things about Hutch, there is some we don’t. So, many fans are looking forward to the expansion of his story. They’re not looking to know his political affiliation or what name he prefers. At the end of the day, we simply want entertainment with action and a little bit of comedy.

Catch Nobody 2 in theaters Friday, August 15th. Also, let me know what you think. On a scale of 1 — 10, what would you give Nobody part one? What made you like the movie the most? Leave it in the comments.

This article was written by Jermaine Reed, MFA, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reeders Block. Join the email list to get notifications on new blog posts and books. This article is 100% human-written. And remember, if you see an error, that’s what makes us human.