MOVIE REVIEW – Bob Odenkirk returns to unleash his inner beast, shedding the suffocating dullness of suburban dad life once again in a blood-soaked rampage. In Nobody 2, the Better Call Saul star finds himself torn (again) between the calm of family life and the chaos of his old assassin ways. The original was a witty, John Wick-inspired revenge fantasy with a satirical edge; this sequel, however, feels more like an unnecessary bonus level—less punch, less surprise, and far less purpose.

Ilya Naishuller’s 2021 sleeper hit didn’t just thrive on 87North Productions’ signature blood-splattered chaos—it worked because of Bob Odenkirk. Just like Hutch, Odenkirk peeled back layers of expectation, evolving from awkward dad to nightmare-fuel killing machine. It was this clever merging of performer and character that made the film sing, a tongue-in-cheek case of life mirroring art.

Second Round, Half the Force

Nobody 2 kicks off with Hutch attempting the impossible: maintaining a double life as both ruthless killer and family man. But despite its theatrical debut on August 15, this follow-up struggles to recapture the energy and unexpected charm of its predecessor. Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto—known for gory gems like May the Devil Take You and The Night Comes for Us—knows his way around stylish violence, and Odenkirk still nails the “unlikely action hero” persona. But even their combined efforts can’t save this messy, overstretched encore. It stumbles through familiar beats, with the novelty worn thin and the narrative spark missing in action.

Scripted by Derek Kolstad (of John Wick fame) and Aaron Rabin, the film opens with a déjà vu interrogation: Hutch, battered and cuffed, sits in a dark room while the cops question a man they know only as “Nobody.” A flashback then reveals the lead-up: despite coming clean to his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), teenage son Brady (Gage Munroe), and young daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath), not much has changed in the Mansell household. Domestic life remains a pressure cooker.

Becca’s frustration with her husband’s endless “disappearances” is reaching critical mass. Brady, meanwhile, is clearly picking up the wrong lessons from Dad—his black eye speaks volumes. Hutch, too caught up in fists, firearms, and a fire axe, is oblivious to the growing mess at home. Still indebted to his handler The Barber (Colin Salmon) after torching the Russian mob’s retirement fund, Hutch squeezes in a family vacation following a bloody snatch-and-grab gone sideways.

Theme Park Getaway: Blood and Cotton Candy

Hutch wants to “make memories,” so he picks Plummerville—an old-school amusement park loaded with carnival rides, a hotel, and a waterpark, all wrapped in nostalgic cheese. A hilariously dated TV ad sets low expectations, but everyone agrees to give it a shot, including Hutch’s father David (Christopher Lloyd), who spends the movie dressed like a retired PI on a tiki cruise. Once again, Odenkirk plays a man pulled between love and carnage, and the film works best when it lets him face off against towering thugs with nothing but grit and absurd determination.

The garish tiki-themed rooms are good for a chuckle, but trouble follows Hutch wherever he goes. He winds up in the sights of small-town sheriff Abel (Colin Hanks), his boss Henry (John Ortiz), and eventually crime queenpin Lendina (Sharon Stone), who runs an underground smuggling empire out of the park and has no patience for Hutch’s disruptions. Cue the bloodshed: Hutch loses a chunk of his pinky, and his marriage starts fraying as Becca realizes her husband can’t stay out of trouble for even a single day.

Hutch’s internal battle continues—trying to be a better father while fighting the darker urges that make him so good at what he does. Unfortunately, this moral tug-of-war feels tacked on, lacking the thematic cohesion of the original. We’ve been here before, and the repeat doesn’t hit as hard.

Bloody, Loud, and Running on Fumes

The set pieces get bigger, the beatdowns harsher, but the adrenaline just doesn’t kick in. By the time the grand finale arrives, the tension has long since deflated. The good guys win, of course, but the brawls—despite flashy camerawork—are low on originality. Christopher Lloyd and RZA, returning as Hutch’s war-hardened dad and samurai-cool brother Harry, are relegated to glorified cameos. With the humor dialed down, the film becomes a paint-by-numbers genre piece, lacking the punchy inventiveness that defined the first.

Stone’s Lendina is a textbook villain brought to life only by Stone’s grinning sociopathy and a bizarre dance break. Ortiz and Hanks do what they can with cardboard characters, while Nielsen steps up in the action department, though she still plays second fiddle to Hutch, who does most of the damage himself—occasionally with a Tommy gun, just for old-school flair. Tjahjanto injects the occasional spark, like a static wide shot where Hutch leaves a warehouse, only to return moments later for more carnage, with the camera panning smoothly into a van offering front-row seats to the mayhem.

Did This Really Need to Happen?

Whether it’s a water slide chase ending in gleeful gore or slow-mo excess played for laughs, Tjahjanto has a visual style that’s undeniable. But even his flair can’t justify the existence of this unnecessary sequel. Odenkirk is undeniably compelling, and it’s not hard to imagine a third entry that could better serve both actor and character. Still, if this is the end of his action-hero detour, it’s a disappointing note to go out on. Here’s hoping the next phase of his career brings the same unpredictability—but with more substance.

-Gergely Herpai “BadSector”-