★★½ (2½ out of 4)
I enjoyed the hell out of 2021’s ultra-violent, ultra-fun “Nobody,” starring Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell, the nebbishy "nobody" of the title, a suburban accountant who shocked his wife, realtor Becca (Connie Nielsen), and their two kids—Brady (Gage Munroe) and Sammy (Paisley Cadorath)—when his past as a killer-for-hire came to light.
Suddenly, Odenkirk—the comic actor who showed his dramatic chops to multiple Emmy nods playing a small-time attorney on "Breaking Bad" and its prequel "Better Call Saul"—aced his first role as an action hero and turned “Nobody” into a hit and a bigger smash on streaming.
Does lightning strike twice? Not really, since the surprise is gone. Don’t be bummed. Odenkirk and new director, Indonesian action maestro Timo Tjahjanto (“The Night Comes for Us”), have some fresh tricks up their sleeve that they’re ready to spring when you’re least expecting them.
Odenkirk makes sure we’re never bored..., not for a minute.
This “Nobody” sequel is set up as a vacation for the family, even though Hutch still owes the Russian mob for accidentally incinerating $30 million of their ill-gotten gains. Where do you go from there? Hutch takes his clan, including elderly dad David (Christopher Lloyd), to Wild Bill’s Majestic Midway and Waterpark in Plummerville, Wisconsin, a rundown dump where Hutch’s dad took him and his adoptive brother, Harry (RZA), as kids.
What could go wrong? Everything, of course. Hutch’s boss, the Barber (Colin Salmon), permits the vacation time but warns his man that violence is inevitable. “This job is in your nature, and nature always wins.” Especially when provoked.
Young Brady gets bullied by Max (Lucius Hoyos), the son of the resort's owner, Henry (John Ortiz), which ends with an attack on Hutch daughter Sammy, who’s just 12. Hutch told his wife there would be no fights, but hoods getting violent with his kids makes Hutch see red.
And just like that, Plummerville sheriff, Abel (Colin Hanks), is aggressively anti-Hutch. Why? The town is a bootlegging route, led by sadistic mob boss Lendina, played by Sharon Stone with enough fire in her eye to cause a global incident. Stone is having a blast with the role.
And you will, too, if you forgive the gaping holes in the plot and just get on with it. Odenkirk is expert at transitioning from mild-mannered to menacing and it’s a jolting joy to watch him bang villain heads together. “I’m here with my family, making memories,” says Hutch innocently. Bad guys everywhere are advised never to believe him.
There is no scene in “Nobody 2” that can match the bus ride in the first film in which Hutch encounters a handful of punks harassing a young woman. His long-dormant anger rises to the fore in a classic, one-dude-against-them-all fight bonanza that "Taken" dad Liam Neeson would envy.
One moment comes close when Hutch dispatches five killer dudes in an elevator. It’s true that “Nobody 2” is following patterns and beats previously laid down in the original. But Odenkirk makes sure we’re never bored with Hutch, not for a minute. This sitcom dad turned homicidal Superman is an original character, a potent parody of a weakling unchained. Preposterous? Maybe. But also irresistible.