Rent Nobody (2021)

Fun Filled Action - Nobody review by GI

Here's a full-on gutsy action film that is fun filled, fast paced, brutal and bloody and manages to be firmly tongue-in-cheek. Starring Bob Odenkirk who made his name in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, he's perfect as Hutch, a put upon everyman who lives a mundane, suburban life with his family, although his marriage to Becca (Connie Nielsen) has gone somewhat stale. One night they are broken into by two hapless burglars and Hutch avoids an opportunity to get the drop on them making him a big disappointment to his son. Later when his daughter finds the thieves have taken her 'kitty' bracelet Hutch decides to go and find it. What no-one realises is the events have awoken in Hutch a dark past that will unleash a maelstrom of violence. Thematically and narratively similar to John Wick (2014) - both films share the same screenwriter - this works mainly because Odenkirk really gets across the 'nobody special' persona intregal to the story. He's a totally average sort of guy, both physically and emotionally, so when he reveals his true self it's a real humdinger of a surprise. Most of all this a film that simply entertains throughout, the action scenes are great and the film avoids cliché making it a constant surprise. Just for the sheer fun of it this is a film to sit back and just enjoy.

One of the best films of 2021. - Nobody review by LR

I absolutely loved this film! We all have moments in our lives which we can relate to in this amazing film! Rumours of a Nobody / John Wick crossover will be amazing! Highly recommended.  

Surprisingly excellent. - Nobody review by AN

Pleasantly surprised by this zingy (and very gnarly) action film. Odenkirk does much more than just a Liam Neeson impression here and is assisted by some really imaginative action choreography. I found it more satisfying and rewarding than recent fan favourites (looking at you John Wick 3) and in the end it left me wanting much more. It isn't often that you get to the end of an exhausting action flick like this and feel like you would really LOVE to see a sequel! As long as he finishes Better Call Saul first...

More comedy than thriller - Nobody review by LC

Bit of an odd one this - clearly it's not meant to be taken seriously, but aside from a few gags there's not much in the way of laugh-out-loud humorous dialogue either. The whole thing is so over the top it's ridiculous, and almost feels like a spoof of the action-movie genre, but maybe that's the point. Some fun visuals and fight scenes, but ultimately it's all style and very little substance. Fun if you're in the right mood, just don't expect a serious thriller.

Despite the inspired casting of Bob Odenkirk, this just doesn't work on any level - Nobody review by Timmy B

After the huge success of the John Wick films, there was always going to be the case of where to go next. The idea of an older assassin being forced to come out of retirement despite not wanting to is one of the oldest cinematic scenarios.

There is some genius behind the casting of Bob Odenkirk. After roles such as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad, this was totally against-type and could have worked really well. And one of the only positives in this film is that Odenkirk is good in the role. It is clear he has spent a lot of time and worked really hard with the stunts to make everything seem believable.

But that's pretty much where the good stuff ends. Despite the pedigree of talent behind the camera, the whole film felt disjointed, slow and, worst of all, boring. The action scenes didn't sit well within the film and the final showdown was just a damn squib. Hutch's backstory was just the latest in cliché 101 characters.

A sequel has been announced, but not something which I'll be clamouring to see, which is a shame considering what this film could have been.

Haven't I Seen This Before Somewhere.... - Nobody review by The REAL Film Cricket

Nobody is a fast, action-packed, violent tale of vengeance, living in the same street as John Wick, Derek Kolstad wrote it, and Nobody is nearly the same film. Given that deadpan and comedic Bob Odenkirk is the lead, fresh off his turn in Breaking Bad and the spin-off Better Call Saul you would expect this film would have a more fun element to it. At the beginning we do get a sense of underlying comedy and with the violence non-existent this is the better film. Even the over-the-top cartoon violence of the ‘bus attack’ being more personal the film held my attention, Odenkirk gets battered and hurt, in real he would be dead or seriously injured, but this film is not about that and it is churlish to pick out realism as a failing.

The action when it happens is frenetic, well-choreographed and exciting, particularly when it is small and personal, but it is as if director Naishuller (Hardcore Henry) forgot the whole first acts of the film and we end up with every Russian, fighting Bob, his brother RZA and his 82-year-old dad played by Christopher Lloyd, funny but stupid. Yet again though it appears to thousands of men with guns willing to die horribly to serve their gangster boss, all dying in horrible ways. It is all a bit familiar.

Nobody is a professionally made well-crafted action film, with ultra-violence, gunplay and even Home Alone booby traps, yet for me the best filmmaking, the most effective sequence comes at the very beginning of the film a choppily edited opening sequence underlining the boring mundane life Hutch lives. Quick, sharp, to-the-point and in few repeated shots you know exactly what our main character appears to be.

For lovers of action-packed-violence, this will be enough but for those that worship at the ever-diminishing returns of John Wick it will not be enough, they will like it but will forget it soon after watching and waiting patiently for ‘John Wick 6, He Kills the Whole World’.

Nobody is a revenge story, told in a cartoon-style with little or no sense to the plot from the beginning that gets even more nonsensical the longer it goes on but it is made for a specific audience. For those that like being on ‘Revenge Street’ but perhaps prefer a little more meat on the bone I would recommend Blue Ruin or even something like the original Death Wish, even Straw Dogs having said this for action, and let us be honest, mindless violence there are too many to pick from.

As you may have guessed this type of action-film with bish-bash-violence leaves me mainly cold and under the right circumstances I could fall asleep watching most of them, I really liked the original John Wick but due to the success of that film we have Nobody which does not do anything different enough to distinguish it. Cardboard cut-out Russian gangsters (sigh) lead by famous Russian actor Aleksey Serebryakov raised my eyebrows and from that point they never really dropped again. I wish someone would make this type of film and try something innovative and different, similar to zombie-films, ultra-action films are in serious danger of overloading the market and disappearing up their own fundamentals. Shame really, there could be something there for good filmmakers to get a grip of.

Nobody will be watched by a lot of people and forgotten fairly soon, which is disappointing there is a lot of talent on show and that is not just my writing about it.

Bloody Brilliant! - Nobody review by Mc

It long time since I have enjoyed a movie so much. Pure escapism in a mad decent into non stop hilarious violence. It WILL be viewed again on numerous occasions. Similar to John Wick in a way. The Russian is the baddie as always now.