Nobody Does It Better

Keanu Reeves has a history of being in trendsetting movies. After Speed came a bunch of movies that were "like Speed, but in this setting." Of course, there was The Matrix and its many imitators. And now, after John Wick, there's been a raft of "it's like John Wick but..." movies. The best I've seen is Nobody. In fact, in my book, it's better than John Wick.

Hutch Mansell has a common family life... until one night, a break-in at his home taps into something buried deep inside him. Action ensues. I'd describe more of the plot, but truly, there isn't much plot here, so saying too much more would only spoil the fun. Just as John Wick loses his dog and winds up fighting Russians, and that's all you need to know, so Hutch Mansell's routine home life is disrupted and he winds up... well, that would be telling.

When I say that I thought Nobody was better than John Wick, I mean that on multiple fronts. It's even more slimmed down than John Wick -- especially the sequels that convoluted the story with excessive world building. With an unheard-of-in-these-days run time of 92 minutes, Nobody gets right down to business, and doesn't get tangled up with anything that's going to get in the way of its mission to deliver adrenaline-fueled action. You get fist fights, you get car stunts, you get gun play... it ticks all the boxes, with absolutely zero fat.

Nobody stars (and this will blow your freaking mind, if you didn't already know) Bob Odenkirk. Anyone who has watched Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul knows that Odenkirk has grown from a comedian into one of the most subtle and real dramatic actors around. And because of his mastery of these gears, the shift from mild-mannered into ass-kicking machine feels much grander. Plus, through a combination of his own skill with fight choreography and incredibly well done stunt and camera work, he looks just as credible in the action as Keanu Reeves, or Liam Neeson, or Charlize Theron, or any other star you can think of who has made a movie like this.

But what I like best about Nobody is the "but" they chose for their "it's like John Wick, but" premise. Nobody is John Wick, but it hurts. It fucking hurts. So many action movies built around fist fights feel slick and glossy. The moves are pristine. The hero is invulnerable. Not Nobody. (Not no-how.) Every moment of every fight in this movie is brutal. That's not to say that it's strictly "realistic," because this is ultimately still an over-the-top action movie. It just feels more genuine somehow.

And of course, the movie earned extra points with me for featuring Christopher Lloyd in a supporting role. (The nature of that role is more fun I'd really rather not spoil.)

Nobody is a movie with a simple agenda, but it does it oh so well. I give it a B+, and a slot on my Top 10 Movies of 2021 list. If you don't like violent movies, that's understandable. But otherwise, you really should add it to your queue.