Ilya Naishuller’s “NOBODY”

Review by Dennis D. McDonald

Move over John Wick

NOBODY puts a fresh spin on by-now-familiar tropes about The Russian Mob in North America. Bob Odenkirk, seen recently in the excellent Undone time-travel series, plays an everyman-with-a-past, the past in this case being a skilled assassin who has put his tools and memories behind in favor of a humdrum middle class suburban existence.

One would not be forgiven for conjuring the memory of Liam Neeson but director Naishuller and star Odenkirk bring an exhilarating sense of reality to a remarkably well choreographed set of action sequences. These follow on Odenkirk’s chracter being enraged when a small time robbery of his suburban home results in the disappearance of his beloved daughter’s kitty-cat bracelet.

Odenkirk’s follow-up to the robbery leads him deep into a world dominated by Russian mobsters. That’s when his long-hidden skills snap into place along with ties to his dad (Christopher Lloyd) and an unnamed former colleague he communicates with secretly via radio.

It definitely sounds like we’ve seen this all before but the production values, stuntwork, and Odenkirk’s fresh approach to this character put this one into John Wick territory. Recommended.

Review copyright (c) 2022 by Dennis D. McDonald