The Mosley Review: Nobody
In a world post the genre defining John Wick action films, I was waiting for the day that we would start seeing other action films follow suit. Charlize Theron had Atomic Blonde and it was even directed by one of the original John Wick directors, but that was something still heightened. I have been looking forward to the type of action films with the same gritty style, but with a more scaled down story. A relatable story that has thrilling moments of action and keeps in line with the rules that are set. This film was exactly that and it was interesting to see it play out as not only a straight forward action film, but somewhat of a dramedy. The routines of a normal civilian life can be mundane and sometimes drive you to a point that you just throw it all away. It just takes that one day and you're off. I loved seeing that and the film takes full advantage of that once the spark of the home invasion lights the flame that is the bus fight scene. From that point on, the film becomes a brutal, somewhat formulaic and fun blood bath and I love every second of it.
Bob Odenkirk was excellent as the stoic and fun as Hutch "Nobody" Mansell. You see him play the boring and troubled family man and how his soul isn't really present. I could feel his true self clawing to get out in every scene. When Hutch becomes unhinged and reverts back to his old skill sets, he’s awesome and Bob does an excellent job handling the many fight scenes. When he takes a hit its believable and you see the fatigue and I love that detail of realism in these action films. Connie Nielsen was great as his wife Rebecca and I loved that she isn't too shocked to see so many cuts on him. Christopher Lloyd was fun and badass as his father David. He definitely gets his epic moments to shine and almost steals the film. RZA plays his half brother Harry and I liked the scenes between them. Their scenes keep you informed of the impending violence on the way from the film's antagonist. Aleksei Serebryakov was fun and exceptionally violent as the Russian drug lord Yulian Kuznetsov. At times he seemed plucked right out any other action film with a Russian bad guy, but he does make a decent impression. When he meets Hutch, it is a fun and well played scene between them.
The score by David Buckley was decent and powered the films most action heavy scenes. It wasn't particularly memorable, but nevertheless good. The cinematography was great as the film wasn't overly saturated to accentuate the blood and muzzle flashes. The action sequences were great, but the real crowning jewel of them all was during the last 20 minutes. Overall, I thought this was a fun action vehicle for Bob Odenkirk and showed that even the most unexpected actors can do action right. The film is currently in theaters and might be on demand now. Let me know what you thought of the film and my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
