WeeklySA_AdminACTION THRILLER OF AN ASSASSIN: Forced to reclaim a violent past.
Film: Nobody
Director: Ilya Naishuller
Reviewer: Sonke Sibiya
(additional reporting by Victor Mecoamere)
“We all die. Some sooner than others.”
This is one line that stands out in the newly-released Derek Kolstad action thriller, Nobody, in which multitalented Bob Odenkirk magnificently plays a lethal assassin who is desperately seeking to lead a peaceful family life, to repair his disintegrating marriage and regain some respect from his contemptuous son, who is oblivious of his father’s violent past.
But he is forcefully yanked back to his violent past in a fight to the death with a shameless cesspit on two legs with absolutely no finesse known as Yulian, a Russian gangster masquerading as an ageless singing and dancing gigolo, but is essentially a jelly-legged caricature.
Odenkirk’s character, Hutch Mansell, hankers so much for the quiet life that he endures the humdrum routine of working for his father in law Eddie Williams’ metalwork factory. Ironside, who plays Eddie, has portrayed hardened men in action shows including Walker Texas Ranger, and Total Recall, does not do or say much in Nobody, but his huge presence is enough to provide a perfect foil for Odenkirk. Especially when he mediates in intermittent scuffles between Mansell and his insolent brother in law, Charlie Williams, ably played by Billy MacLellan.
Mansell’s life turns upside-down one night after a tense, near-death encounter with two amateur burglars during which Mansell’s cocky teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe) successfully tackles one of the invaders; and all Mansell was supposed to have done was to clobber the other thug with a golf club, but he had successfully restrained the urge to reprise his violent past; to young Blake’s dismay and added contempt.
In the aftermath of the attack, Mansell learns from his toddler daughter, Sammy – who is coincidentally the only person in his household who appreciates Mansell – that, added to the handful of cash and his watch, the miscreants had also pilfered his daughter’s “kitty cat” bracelet. He then goes after them, with the same wrath that he used to muster as an “auditor” – euphemism for an assassin employed by intelligence agencies to kill people who were considered untouchable or too difficult to arrest.
This much he tells each of the bad people he encounters, before he eliminates them. All hell proverbially breaks loose when Mansell comes to an innocent teenage girl’s rescue. This after several roughnecks had boarded and terrorised a bus on which Mansell is also a regular passenger, who had been courteously riding back home, at that inopportune time. When he realises what the ruffians’ intent doing, Mansell’s malevolent past catches up with him and transforms into the men’s worst nightmare.
But, unbeknown to Mansell, one of the assailants is Yulian’s younger brother, Teddy, portrayed by Aleksandr Pal. Then Teddy dies. Yulian gets mad and smells blood.
And so begins the real violent action. The stunt and fight choreography is also a work of art. From the initially awkward first few fight scenes, the action continues to grow; and, from there, as his combat skills are seemingly awakened by each encounter he has with his enemies, almost as if he is shaking off the rust with each punch he throws, until he becomes a force to be reckoned with.
The action sequences are also similar to another action genre favourite, the adrenaline pumping action offering, John Wick.
Unsurprisingly, the same team that choreographed that movie, also worked on Nobody. While there is a lot of violence, there are also bags full of guffaws.
So, in a nutshell, Nobody is also a combination of Adam Sandler’s slapstick, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, Macaulay Culkin’s comedy, Home Alone, and Liam Neeson’s fast-paced thriller, Taken
Because – much as there is violence galore – one cannot stop laughing, throughout, especially when Mansell’s black brother, Harry Mansell (rapper RZA) and the main character’s elderly father and retired FBI agent, David, enter the fray.
Why should you should go see this movie? Because you would have already fallen in love with Nobody by the time Hutch Mansell says, “We all die. Some sooner than others.”
