Nobody 2 Review – Odenkirk’s action sequel is a bit of a snoozer

Bob Odenkirk juggles contract kills with a family vacation in this charmless, often muddled sequel, co-starring Connie Nielsen, Sharon Stone, and a crowd-pleasing Christopher Lloyd. 

In 2021, Ilya Naishuller’s Nobody hit like a suckerpunch to the face. It was powerful, fresh, and didn’t outstay its welcome: a perfect B-movie. Written by John Wick scribe Derek Kolstad and helmed by 87eleven (also, John Wick), it told the story of Hutch Masell (Bob Odenkirk), a retired hitman sleepwalking through life in suburbia only to be awoken as a killer when a Russian criminal syndicate comes to town.

To the tune of Andy Williams and Nina Simone, that film was a delightfully kitsch throwback to a time when a simple plot and ironclad execution was enough to make a movie soar. And its ending left Hutch, his family, and their newfound cat ‘Lasagne‘ on a path to better things. A sequel could go anywhere.

In the intervening years, Hutch hasn’t changed much. He’s still a family man, still routinely misses the garbage truck, and still comes alive with a gun in his hand and a hallway of baddies to kill. That part of his life is thriving – his boss, The Barber (Colin Salmon), is ecstatic that his debits will be paid ahead of schedule – whilst life at home is falling apart.

To ease tensions, Hutch plans to take his family and ex-assassin father, David (Christopher Lloyd), on a summer holiday to Plummerville, a fictional ‘70s waterpark responsible for many happy memories of his youth. His wife, Becca (Connie Neilson), just wants her husband back, with a rundown waterpark a small price to pay.

It’s in the spirit of National Lampoon’s Vacation, a silly, slapstick jaunt where Hutch and co. habitually run into violent, often murderous misadventure. Not even the Arcade is safe, as Hutch, pulled between violence and family, doles out some pain with a Whac-A-Mole hammer to the chagrin of Colin Hanks’ crazed Sheriff (the only thing more crazed is his haphazard mullet!). As before, Andy Williams plays over bloody action scenes as Hutch discovers a vast criminal conspiracy at the heart of Plummerville – it’s a formula, and it’s already stale.

Despite Timo Tjahjanto’s confident direction, Nobody 2 is a narrative slap in the face. A laugh-out-loud first act and brilliant action by John Wick alum belies a tedious, often frustrating middle section that remixes much of the first film’s ideas: this time it’s a brawl on a boat, not a bus; a booby-trapped fairground, not a factory; revenge for his daughter’s honor, not her kitty cat bracelet. You get the idea.

Hutch is similarly copy-and-paste, a stereotype in an old-school Beat ’em up video game rather than a fully developed character. His MO was never senseless murder – it’s a visual tonic, to be sure – but here he’s reduced to glorified, often unimaginative killathons.

Its use of Sharon Stone as arch-villian Lendina is a similar letdown. She’s a cackling, murdering lunatic billed as a fierce adversary, but amounts to cringeworthy monologues and an obligatory evildoer dance – Hugh Grant in Love Actually, she is not. 

Of course, Christopher Lloyd shines as bright as ever. His curmudgeonly ex-hitman is sidelined for the most part – offscreen in the family cabin – but much like Odenkirk, he rises above the material to provide enough cheesy one-liners and grizzly action beats to make the experience worth it. Almost. 

In keeping with John Wick’s winning formula, Nobody 2 goes bigger in every area: action and comedy take a notable uptick in quality, but narrative suffers a lethal slump. Odenkirk remains a stellar lead, joyous as he murders and breaks jaws and skulls in a Hawaiian shirt. But it’s all in vain, as a fun-loaded concept fails to entertain as intended, and nobody wants that.

• Nobody 2 is in cinemas now.