Nobody
[Blu-ray/DVD Combo]
Bob Odenkirk is known as a powerhouse of comedy. Over the past 3 decades he’s been in just about every comedy project worth watching. Few people get the craft quite like him. As someone who had been an underdog through most of his career, it’s been interesting watching him blow up as a serious actor after his role as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad. Odenkirk is becoming quite the household name.
But an action star? Are you serious? Nobody seems to think so, and quite honestly, succeeds in that task.
I’ll be honest and say that it’s only Odenkirk’s involvement that made me interested in this movie. Nobody tells a familiar Hollywood story of an old geezer who has a dark past he’s been keeping secret from everyone. I don’t like using the term “badass,” so let’s just say that the character of Hutch Mansell had a violent profession that he was quite good at. Throughout the course of the movie, things quickly escalate to the point where he has to flex that old muscle to get himself and his family out of trouble, and he doesn’t quite seem to mind it.
Of course, this movie is all about the action sequences, and with the involvement of the John Wick guys, rest assured we’re in good hands. The fight scenes here are fast, hard, innovative, and brutal. And it’s all the more amusing that Bob Odenkirk is our action star. It was no easy feat either as we can tell from all the bones features included in this DVD/Blu-ray set. Odenkirk had to train for years to “learn how to fight” as they put it (although no one in this movie is actually fighting since they’re not landing punches, so I’m still trying to figure out what they mean by it). Throw in some great casting like Christopher Lloyd and RZA (who I didn’t recognize, so that neuron didn’t fire in my brain when he appeared on-screen), and you’ve got yourself a bona fide great popcorn flick, that’s maybe a little light on plot, but big on execution.
Now more than ever it’s important to own the physical copies of movies in our catalog, and this release seems to be taking it seriously. The bonus features here are deleted scenes, two audio commentaries by the director alone, and one with the director and Odenkirk (which has a few interesting reveals, but is mostly Odenkirk explaining what’s going on in the movie), and several segments where they break down Odenkirk’s training and how several of the action sequences were choreographed and shot. Some cool stuff.
Nobody is an underdog of a movie which manages to do a lot in a very innovative way.
