Bodies

Nobody (directed by Ilya Naishuller, 2021); Nobody 2 (directed by Timothy Tjahjanto, 2025)

Bodies. Many, many bodies, and virtually none of them in a ‘good way’. This brace of actioners is great fun, and whilst made with obvious care and love, take themselves not at all seriously.

Much of the entertainment comes, of course from Bob Odenkirk (as Hutch, aka ‘Nobody’), a humble bookkeeper stuck in a rut, whose inner demons (previously he was an “auditor”, i.e., the very last person you wish to ever see) are unleashed by a semi-violent home invasion, which leads to numerous fights (where the participants receive blows, any one of which would kill an elephant) and ultimately spectacular confrontations with some very salty Russian gangsters.

In the sequel (a kind of cross between National Lampoon’s Vacation, Death Wish and Pulp Fiction), Nobody takes the family to Plummerville (a bleak and shabby amusement park situated aesthetically somewhere near  Luna Park, Epcot Centre and Piss-Weak World), but his toxic masculinity once again breaks from cover, with ultra-violent results. The sequel is less serious than the first film but, truth be told, there is nothing made in the last several years so well-suited to watching from a comfortable chair, with a welcome drink, after a hard week.

Great support in both films from Connie Nielson, as Hutch’s wife, RZA as Harry, his (adopted) brother, and Christopher Lloyd as Hutch’s dad, who has a fine time impersonating Hunter S. Thompson. And the two main villains in # 1 and # 2 respectively, Aleksei Serebryakov and Sharon Stone, are particularly good (at playing loathsome types – see below).