I was first introduced to Bob Odenkirk when "Mr. Show" launched on HBO back in the mid-90s. At the time, I thought the sketch comedy program was hit or miss - a first impression that made me ambivalent about Odenkirk until his debut as smarmy lawyer Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad. He's so damn good at playing the immature, impetuous criminal lawyer who wants to do good yet consistently does bad when faced with the alluring freedom attached to criminal behavior. My perception of Odenkirk and his acting abilities was seriously starting to shift. Still, I wondered how much of Saul was just Odenkirk in assorted garish, custom-made suits. I didn't know if he could bring the same brilliance to a different character. The last character I expected him to pull from his bag of tricks was the lead badass in a balls-to-the-wall, shoot-em-up action flick. So when I learned about "Nobody," I had major reservations. I imagine my reaction was similar to the way audiences first responded to seeing Bruce Willis in ads for 'Die Hard.' Kind of a 'yeah right, there's no way this aging comedian can pull this off' type of vibe.
Well, I've seen it. And Odenkirk has made me a believer. Even though it was surreal to see him playing a bone-crushing, Uzi-toting, grenade-tossing one-man army, I bought the performance and really enjoyed it. There's nothing particularly new about the storyline - a normcore suburban dad named Hutch Mansell (with a mysterious past à la John Wick) intentionally avoids getting violent during a home-invasion robbery. Afterwards, he gets grief for acting like a wussy from his family and pretty much everyone on the face on the planet. This unlocks his inner beast who goes on a rage-fueled bender of finely-choreographed mayhem that quickly involves the entire Russian mafia. It's an absurd, wry, pulpy b-movie extravaganza of ultra-violence that works thanks to Odenkirk's complete commitment. Definitely worth checking out.
Well, I've seen it. And Odenkirk has made me a believer. Even though it was surreal to see him playing a bone-crushing, Uzi-toting, grenade-tossing one-man army, I bought the performance and really enjoyed it. There's nothing particularly new about the storyline - a normcore suburban dad named Hutch Mansell (with a mysterious past à la John Wick) intentionally avoids getting violent during a home-invasion robbery. Afterwards, he gets grief for acting like a wussy from his family and pretty much everyone on the face on the planet. This unlocks his inner beast who goes on a rage-fueled bender of finely-choreographed mayhem that quickly involves the entire Russian mafia. It's an absurd, wry, pulpy b-movie extravaganza of ultra-violence that works thanks to Odenkirk's complete commitment. Definitely worth checking out.