Nobody 2 (A PopEntertainment.com Movie Review)

PopEntertainment
Aug 15
3 min read

Updated: Aug 17

NOBODY 2 (2025)

Starring Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, John Ortiz, RZA, Colin Hanks, Christopher Lloyd, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Colin Salmon, Billy MacLellan, Gage Munroe, Paisley Cadorath, Nolan Grantham, Pyper Braun, Jahron Wilson, Daniel Maclnnis, Cindy Myskiw, Zara Longe, Daniel Bernhardt, Madison MacIsaac, Ryan David Younes and Isla Verot.

Screenplay by Derek Kolstad & Aaron Rabin.

Directed by Timo Tjahjanto.

Distributed by Universal Pictures. 89 minutes. Rated R.

There are certain sequels that no one really thought that we would need. In fact, there are a lot of them. The pleasant surprise is that, while not quite as good as the original, the continuing arc of Nobody 2 works a lot better than one might expect.

The original film seemed like sort of a fun one off – a funny and extremely violent story of an ordinary guy who hid a background and skills as a government assassin until happenstance drags him back into the fray.

It starred Bob Odenkirk, in his first real feature role in a movie at nearly 60 years old after his gigs in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul rocketed out of his previous place in Hollywood – a comedian and supporting actor in lots of sitcoms. And Odenkirk embraced this opportunity, giving his character lots of interesting quirks and a devastating way with a quip which made the violent mayhem more fun to watch than more serious fare like, say, the John Wick movies.

The film was even unorthodox enough that the final set-piece slaughter was like the most violent Home Alone sequel ever. Remember that episode of The Sarah Silverman Show where as a gag she recreated the Home Alone can of paint stunt and mistakenly decapitated someone? Nobody was like that concept stretched out for even more comedy and mayhem.

Still, I’m not sure there was much more story left in the tank for Nobody. And honestly, Nobody 2 doesn’t even try to shake things up. Other than some small plot tweaks, Nobody 2 tells a variation on the previous story.

Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell is now fully back in the world of government espionage, paying off a debt that he incurred through a rash act in the first film. And he still kind of hates it, but he has a moral compass that may be flawed, but one that cannot overlook injustices, particularly to his family.

However, all of the life-and-death mayhem is exacting a price on his family life. Particularly his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) has had it with Hutch missing family functions and showing up late, bloody, and bruised. She makes it quite clear that if he doesn’t make the family a priority, they will not be there for him.

Therefore, Hutch decides to take a family vacation to an old, cheesy water park which he remembered from his childhood as one of the few really good times in his life.

And frankly, this was the smartest thing that Nobody 2 could have done. Setting its story in this sad, soulless and rundown old theme park opens up lots of opportunities for comic mayhem. It’s not a coincidence that the trailers conspicuously use Lindsey Buckingham’s song “Holiday Road,” which had also been the theme song of the old film National Lampoon’s Vacation, because both films share the idea of a vacation destination as both a blessing and a curse.

Nobody 2 just has a lot more killing than Vacation did. (Although, even Vacation killed a great aunt and a dog.)

Not surprisingly, although he is trying to keep out of trouble, Hutch runs afoul of the crooked owner of the park (John Ortiz), the corrupt chief of police (Colin Hanks) and the crazy local mob boss (Sharon Stone).

This leads to the inevitable fights and showdowns with the local toughs, which are made even bigger, because after all, as a sequel, it has to ramp everything up a bit. And the inevitable payoff Home Alone set piece works even better in this cheesy old park than it did in the factory in the first film.

I’m still not sure the world needs Nobody 2, but it’s a lot of fun, for what it’s worth.

Jay S. Jacobs