I think NOBODY (2021) is a minor action classic of the 2020s, and honestly kind of a miracle in how well it accomplished its task of turning the most unlikely actor – Bob Odenkirk, “Concert Nerd,” WAYNE’S WORLD 2 – into a credible action star. It’s a good enough story and gimmick that he might’ve gotten away with okay action scenes, but he trained like a motherfucker to do actual great ones. The only former SNL writer or DR. DOLITTLE 2 voice actor to do so to date. There’s nothing quite like it.

NOBODY 2 is merely a fun sequel to that. But that’s okay.

It’s notable as the Hollywood debut of one of my favorite working directors, Timo THE NIGHT COMES FOR US Tjahjanto, and though it’s a for-hire work that can’t compete with the impact of his bloody Indonesian epics, it shows his sensibilities for hectic combat and imaginative gore fused with a genuine care for his characters. Crafted to zip by in 89 minutes means it lacks his usual scope, and there’s also none of his John Woo-esque melodrama. In fact it leans even a little more comedy than the first NOBODY, and maybe that tonal difference is why none of the action scenes thrilled me as much as the bus scene in the first one. But they’re good scenes, and grounded in simple story and character ideas that really work for me.

Crucially it’s a clever premise for a sequel – in part 1, burnt out family man Hutch Mansell (Odenkirk) sorta got his groove back while reviving his long-hidden assassin skills to battle Russian mafia goons. This time he brings his family on vacation to Plummerville, a shitty water park that was important to him in childhood. Of course his fuse is once again lit by the flames of Dumb Motherfuckers Who Don’t Know Who They’re Fucking With, which again leads him to a wider and more colorful criminal empire that he doesn’t have to feel as bad about massacring. So it follows the formula but the change in setting, costuming, etc. gives it such a different look and feel that it seems more fresh and distinct from the first one than most sequels. (If the series should continue I hope they’ll find ways to do this each time.)

Perhaps to avoid repetition the sequel does not share the original’s high level of Just How Badass Is He? content, but it does have some enjoyable variations on people seeing what he’s unexpectedly capable of and whining, “Who are you!?” And I suppose it goes without saying that Timo and company found many enjoyable ways to maim, kill and booby trap using arcade games, boat equipment, water slides and carnival rides. (SPOILER: My favorite is the swinging boat ride nailing a guy in both directions.)

As usual, production company 87North puts together a strong team of people who know how to handle action: d.p. Callan Green (Gangs of London), editor/co-producer Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir (JOHN WICK), second unit director Greg Rementer (BULLET TRAIN). The first film’s fight coordinator Kirk A. Jenkins returns, with Kyle Mclean (Scott Adkins’ stunt double in DAY SHIFT) as stunt coordinator.

It’s sweet that Hutch wants so badly to fix his family situation without seeming to realize what thin ice he’s on with his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen, SOLDIER). She does recognize his efforts and shows a fierce loyalty that’s maybe not earned in movie terms but that I found kinda moving or romantic or something. Primarily his marital struggle at the moment is that he took time off to spend with her but immediately got into a violent brawl causing authorities to try to chase them out of town. I think the movie manages the have/eat cake trick of giving us the violence we want to watch while making Hutch genuinely regretful afterwards. At first. Odenkirk is of course a comedy veteran who has become an even better dramatic actor, so he’s very funny in the way that he seems convinced he’s going to de-escalate but does quite the opposite.

The initial layer of chumps Hutch clashes with include a shitbag sheriff played by Colin Hanks (W.), who I think is more convincing as a malevolent sleaze than his dad can be. Not sure why – he does seem to be a nice guy, but playing this character seems to come natural to him. I like how his fate is pretty much sealed by something as stupid as thinking Hutch is staring at him in a restaurant and then never letting go of that initial dislike. For a bit this seems like FIRST BLOOD meets VACATION.

Above Sheriff Abel is theme park owner Wyatt Martin (John Ortiz, BLACKHAT), whose son Max (Lucius Hoyos, “Young Gomez” in one episode of Wednesday) actually starts the whole war by bullying Hutch’s son Brady (Gage Munroe) and daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath) at the arcade over some “you looked at my girlfriend” bullshit. A nice thing is that Hutch actually is able to make friends with one or more of these characters, but they’re all gonna have to take on local crime lord Lendina (Sharon Stone, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, seeming to have a good time going mega), who has one of those bad guy introductions I love where she goes really overboard so we know the amount of fucking around she’s willing to be involved in (none).

I don’t know if this is a common view or not, but some of my online friends dislike the first NOBODY in part because they think it equates Hutch’s return to violence to some type of manning up that improves his life. I hope they appreciate how the sequel casually drops that giving in to his impulses in the first film totally screwed him. He’s “working again,” in JOHN WICK terms, not out of self-fulfillment but to eventually a long time from now become square with The Barber (Colin Salmon, RESIDENT EVIL, PUNISHER: WAR ZONE, BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE, LONDON HAS FALLEN, MORTAL ENGINES) for settling his debt after he burned all the mob’s cash. Now he has an addiction – he fucking burns another criminal empire’s stash of money while struggling to pay off the previous one! – and the Barber even tells him matter-of-factly that this sort of trouble will always follow him wherever he goes. Like part 1 it’s written by JOHN WICK creator Derek Kolstad (ONE IN THE CHAMBER, THE PACKAGE), (this time with Aaron Rabin [Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan]), and despite the lighter tone I think it’s in line with Chad Stahelski’s philosophy of Wick, that there is really no full redemption or escape from this life. They just try to be good while they run from it, but it’s always gonna be on their heels.

Hutch is a dad, though, so his biggest worry is that Brady, who gets in fights at school and on vacation, will turn out like him. If not, that’s a victory.

The curse of a sequel is that we might be disappointed if they don’t do certain things, but then when they do it’s a little empty because it’s what we expected. The presence of Christopher Lloyd (MR. MOM) as Hutch’s crazy dad is thankfully kept pretty small (and adds some good backstory). Of course I was happy to see RZA (BRICK MANSIONS, THE PROTECTOR 2) return as Hutch’s brother Harry and be more RZA than before – he gets to be a ninja, do a little bit of his narration, and more.

As is now delightful 87North tradition, BLOODSPORT II, III and 4 star/Odenkirk’s trainer Daniel Bernhardt (TRUE VENGEANCE, THE MATRIX RELOADED, ATOMIC BLONDE, SKYLINES) gets to play Lendina’s top henchman, Kartoush, even though he already played one of the goons on the bus in part 1. Just bleach his hair and give him a neck tattoo, obviously he’s a different guy, right? (He also played different characters in JOHN WICK and BALLERINA.)

This brings me to one strong element of Timo-ness – in the small amount of time dedicated to setting up the top bad guys he really makes them enjoyably decadent and evil. Sharon Stone (THE QUICK AND THE DEAD) goes mega as crime boss Lendina, who not only has Kartoush as her right-hand man but two badass female bodyguards just credited as “Lendina Female Guard”s and played by stuntwomen Rochelle Okoye and Megan Hui. (SPOILER: My only real complaint is that they go out like chumps – we know in his Indonesian films they’d get a 10 minute fight to the death that’s everybody’s favorite scene. They don’t get to do that but they do fulfill their other duty of looking cool enough that we fill in a whole story for them.)

Some of this may sound like faint praise, and maybe it is. I think you could say NOBODY 2 has less wrong with it than BALLERINA, but I’m much less excited about it overall. It quickly does what it’s supposed to do, and then you’re out of there, that’s about it. So if I can’t stop myself from thinking about its predecessor, the rest of the 87North canon and the films of Timo Tjahjanto, it feels insubstantial. All those are much more ambitious, and among my favorite contemporary movies. NOBODY 2 is not gonna join them, but it’s a fun time, I recommend it.

Additional notes for those who have already seen it:

Why is it so funny to see a guy going down a waterslide firing a machine gun?

Obviously I enjoyed that RZA has a sword duel with Daniel Bernhardt. And obviously I enjoyed Kartoush and Lendina’s deaths. Good stuff.

Mrs. Vern asked if I knew why posters for DARKMAN and THE FOREVER PURGE were prominently displayed in one scene. I figure Timo is definitely a DARKMAN fan, but I don’t have any theories of its significance here. Anybody?

My reviews of some of the other Timo Tjahjanto joints:

MACABRE
HEADSHOT
THE NIGHT COMES FOR US
THE BIG 4
THE SHADOW STRAYS

My reviews of all the movies released under the 87North name:

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM
NOBODY
KATE
BULLET TRAIN
DAY SHIFT
VIOLENT NIGHT
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4
THE FALL GUY
LOVE HURTS
BALLERINA