Nobody (2021) Review
“I’m happy your relapse made you feel so fucking good but now you got a real problem.”
When I heard Bob Odenkirk of Breaking Bad fame was tackling the John Wick action style of filmmaking, I was intrigued. He enlisted the creative talents of Derek Kolstad who helped launch the John Wick franchise with David Leitch. Perhaps Odenkirk was inspired by watching Liam Neeson flicks, believing if his peer could do it at that age then so could he. He delved deep into the training to be ready for this production and it shows.
There’s only one problem, neither Kolstad nor Leitch was behind the camera to frame the action. Which hinders the project from the streamlined aesthetic achieved in the John Wick franchise. This means that we don’t get beautiful one-shot sequences that would properly showcase all of Odenkirk's hard work. Instead, you get fight sequences that are cut in such a way that comes across as though they are trying to mask the abilities of a less talented performer. This is likely owed to relatively unknown helmer Ilya Naishuller, whose only big blockbuster is 2015s Hardcore Henry. A film I did not see, which makes it hard to pinpoint whether Naishuller has grown as a director or remained in the same sandbox.
Nevertheless, it isn’t the only problem with the film. Bringing back Solstad as a scribe means that the same thin plot device that inspires John Wick to go back to a world of torment, is also present here, but instead of a dog, it’s a cat bracelet. Its irony suggests that perhaps this was by design, after all, the movie leans towards comedic elements which feed into the strengths of Odenkirk’s comedic roots.
Solstad borrows once more from his playbook by making the villains Russians. The rethread isn’t the problem, however, casting the likes of Aleksey Serebryakov is. Serebryakov, while not a newcomer, fails to be a compelling villain. It’s a shame because there are elements in the writing that make him a fascinating eccentric. Had director Naishuller reunited with star Sharlto Copley from Hardcore Henry, I am sure Copley could’ve leaned into those elements. But when you’re pitting Odenkirk’s Nobody against a villain you need someone with range someone like Thomas Kretschmann. Admittedly, a fun choice would have been Nicholas Cage, who better to play the oddball than the oddball himself.
For all the misfires within the screenplay, Solstad did manage to get one thing right, a scene with Christopher Lloyd. You may be surprised to know that he is still working, and you may be shocked to know that he is in this film. The marketing team did a brilliant thing keeping this a secret. Solstad is able to draft a scene with Lloyd that may very well be the strongest scene in the entire film. Yes, the 82-year-old actor managed to be one of the strongest aspects of the film. Until he wasn’t.
Solstad managed to design a clever and minimalistic sequence, it was beautifully effective and would have made Lloyd the scene-stealing character of the film. Instead, Solstad opted to overuse the character, diminishing the comedic prospects and drifting into absurd territory. Sometimes you have to stop while you are ahead, Solstad. You could have kept this gag going in an ongoing franchise by designing clever, minimalistic sequences that play to the strengths of Lloyds age.
Solstad comes close to achieving brilliant things, but never sticks the landing. Another aspect I liked that wasn’t quite as strong as it should have been, is another gag wherein Odenkirk’s Nobody is talking to henchmen as they die. The gag is supposed to work because when he finishes his story no one is listening and who knows how much of it they did hear before expiring. It works to some extent, but it didn’t get laughs out of me, I chuckled at best, and it may be owed to Odenkirk’s strengths as a comedian versus the writing itself.
The gag would’ve worked best if the stories were left unfinished. If you were about to reach the climax of the story, but at that moment he realized there was no point in continuing, you leave the audience wanting more and allow room for discussion after the film is over. That’s another gag you could carry onward in the following entries, should the franchise take off. That gag can still be saved because you can refine it each time.
There’s a character teased throughout the entire film that finally shows up at the end. The entire time I thought it was Method Man, and honestly I was excited, he’s quite versatile. But my ears fooled me! It was RZA, who shows up with a big belly that for some reason wasn’t masked with better camera angles. It’s a total slap to the face of Odenkirk, who put in so much hard work to be able to tackle a character like this. RZA also lacks the range that Method Man displays effortlessly.
In the end, the film becomes a waste of an otherwise talented cast and a run-of-the-mill action film that fails to impress despite its leading man.
