Ｍｒ．ノーバディ
Directed by:
Ilya NayshullerScreenplay:
Derek KolstadCinematography:
Pawel PogorzelskiComposer:
David BuckleyCast:
Bob Odenkirk, Aleksey Serebryakov, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Ironside, Colin Salmon, RZA, Billy MacLellan, Araya Mengesha, Gage Munroe (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Hutch is a nobody. As an overlooked and underestimated father and husband, he takes life’s indignities on the chin and never rocks the boat. But when his daughter loses her beloved kitty-cat bracelet in a robbery, Hutch hits a boiling point no one knew he had. What happens when a pushover finally pushes back? Hutch flips from regular dad to fearless fighter by taking his enemies on a wild ride of explosive revenge. (Universal Pictures UK)
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Reviews (12)
I vividly remember going to see Hardcore Henry in the cinema a few years back, a film certainly didn't get lost in the glut of action movies with its visual concept and level of violence. Ilya Naishuller’s next film Nobody rides a similar wave of violence and action, only now you see the story from a familiar perspective (the "absent" cameraman). Nobody tries to be primarily an action thriller, but it quite forgots about the story and the continuity between scenes – at least that’s how it seemed to me (Hutch goes on his brutal spree, but why?). I had mixed feelings about the casting of Christopher Lloyd, he's really vital for his age, but the script just made a mockery of his character. Adequate for one viewing, but no more!
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The simplicity and directness of the 1980s, the audiovisual drive of twenty-first century action flicks and the most unlikely action hero ever. But above all, the enormous enthusiasm that literally oozes from the film. Ilya Nayshuller delivers a more classically conceived action film this time, but Nobody had me smiling with satisfaction from start to finish. Bob Odenkirk shines, whether in a loser or killer mode, and gives it his all. The story doesn't shy away from its simplicity and thanks to the short running time you don't even think about it too much, and the director isn't afraid to pepper it with enjoyable dark humour or slightly bizarre moments. And even the cheesy bad guy can be as scary as he is funny. Then there's the imaginative, perfectly paced, bloody and cleverly devised action. I was a little worried that Nobody would want to follow in the footsteps of John Wick, but director-producer David Leitch and his team ended up going in a slightly different direction and betting on action that's more bloody, painful, and ugly. In terms of inventiveness, Nobody keeps up with Wick, but it goes in a slightly different direction and it’s nice to see that it's not just a rip-off with an unexpected star, but a confident and, for all intents and purposes, well-functioning action romp. I enjoyed it immensely.
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In recent years, we have become accustomed to the fact that only a handful of stalwart though unfortunately aging stars led by Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves and Scot Adkins consistently bring us awe-inspiring, pure-blooded action spectacles across all budget categories. Fortunately, the franchise core of blockbuster production lies in their escapades and, mainly, in the financial results tied to them. After a pause caused by the fascination with the possibilities of computer animation, the action genre regained its appreciation for the artificially inimitable dimension of physical attractions and began to employ the main talents of the stunt trade. Thanks to that, a group of stuntmen and choreographers associated under the name 87Eleven were able, after years of contract work, to develop into an independent production company, 87North Productions, and start implementing their own projects, while also drawing in other significant creative talents. Directed by Ilya Naishuller, who stunned fans of the genre with his debut feature Hardcore Henry five years earlier, Nobody is the first film to leave the 87North nest, while ten other projects in various stages of development are set to follow it. Though the film is based on 87Eleven’s concept of craftsmanship, built on the hard training of actors and the perfect symbiosis of choreography with its formalistic transference into film, which has become the basis of the group’s flagship foreign productions (the John Wick and Atomic Blonde franchises), it also shows that it can be applied to different forms of the genre, new stories and different actors. Though corresponding to John Wick, the core of the premise involving a former expert in killing being called back into action by a disruption in his orderly civilian life and the principle of gradual worldbuilding are given a completely original treatment thanks to the involvement of the outstanding character actor Bob Odenkirk. His personality is based on the amusingly conceived contrast between his civilian facade and his wild past, or rather the skills that he acquired then. The essential motif is midlife or rather later-life crisis, when men are not only emasculated by monotonous work and marriages mired in the mundane, but mainly cease to be heroes for their children. Nobody develops this motif into a sort of mix of the less exaggerated True Lies and the purely fantastical, i.e. a non-subversive and safely staid Fight Club for aging dads. In the context of both Atomic Blonde and the aforementioned True Lies, it's regrettable that the filmmakers decided to strictly adhere to the worn-out macho storyline instead of involving the protagonist’s wife in the action (which, incidentally, was unintentionally promised by one of the dialogue scenes). Nevertheless, the film puts the omission of exaggeration and choice of an egocentric narrative line to good use in the style of action and its connection to the character of the protagonist, who becomes a psychotically hedonistic antithesis to John Wick’s refinement. Related to this is the fact that an essential role is played not only by how he delivers blows, but also by how many he dishes out and takes himself. Nobody is definitely not the best contribution to the action genre, but it is certainly flawless and, mainly, raises high hopes for the genre’s future.
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Derek Kolstad opened his few years old screenplay for John Wick in Microsoft Word, went through it and replaced every instance of the name “John Wick'' with "Bob Odenkirk", chopped out/adjusted/adapted a few things here and there, and suddenly a new screenplay was born! I really cannot believe he did not put in some more effort! However, it is really stylishly shot, it draws you in visually, and the carnage and havoc wreaked by the trio of Bob Odenkirk, RZA, and especially the eighty-two-year-old Christopher Lloyd (!) is dynamic and just incredibly cool, however, the recycling of the screenplay itself was a real slap in the face and really undermined the entire experience.
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Nobody gets off to a nice start with its concept of an action hero hidden behind the façade of an ordinary dad. The film is fresh and dynamic in its editing, and tastefully entertaining and imaginative in the action scenes (such as the ride in the trunk of a car). Unfortunately, after the initial great entertainment, the exceedingly mechanical, simple and unimaginative settling of scores with the bad guys caused me to knock my rating down to three stars. As the protagonist took punches at the beginning and his stamina made him a hero, at the end he gets jumped by the biggest horde of armed goons in a scene staged like something out of Deadpool. Overall, I found the recent genre competitor Boss Level a half-star better.
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