'Nobody 2' Review: Action-Comedy with Bob Odenkirk Delivers the Goods Even When it's Very Much More of the Same
- Elliot Lines
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
By Dan Bremner- August 15, 2025
Four years after the surprise success of Nobody, a scrappy, lower-budget actioner that somehow managed to be a box office hit in the middle of a pandemic, Hutch Nobody is back. And he’s brought the whole family along for the ride. The first film was one of the better “John Wick but…” clones, mixing suburban dad humour with stylized bone-crunching violence, so my expectations for this sequel may have been a little too high. What we get here is very much a case of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” delivering another 90-minute cocktail of carnage, comedy, and domestic bonding. It gives you exactly what you’d expect, and not an ounce more.
Bob Odenkirk is, once again, the engine that makes Nobody tick. He blends that everyman charm with lethal precision, still managing to be convincing whether he’s awkwardly navigating his repressed thirst for violence or beating seven shades out of a thug with whatever object happens to be nearby. The suburban dad energy remains intact, but there’s a slightly lighter, more comedic edge this time around, think National Lampoon’s Vacation, but with more shotgun blasts and a high body-count. It’s the rare action hero performance where you actually buy the “reluctant killer” bit, even if Hutch clearly enjoys himself once the gloves are off.
The action sequences are where returning fans will find the most joy. Director Timo Tjahjanto (The Night Comes for Us, Headshot) brings his trademark flair for inventive, gory set pieces, and the setting gives him plenty to play with. A duck-boat chase, a slapstick yet brutal fight in a water slide tube, and a booby-trapped funhouse all stand out. The climax once again riffs heavily on Home Alone, just transplanted from a warehouse to a rundown water park, but the traps, improvised weapons, and sheer glee in maiming bad guys in horrific fashion do at least keep things lively. Even if the “Violent Home Alone” trope is well and truly worn out in the action genre now.
The setting itself is one of the sequel’s strongest assets. Plummerville’s faded, slightly depressing charm adds personality and a hint of nostalgia, and the water park becomes a full-blown character. It’s an environment that lends itself to creative kills, sight gags, and environmental stunts, and Tjahjanto milks it for all it’s worth. There’s a great “House of Mirrors" sequence that blends slapstick with brutal violence, and while the film’s style isn’t as slick or memorable as the first, there’s still a satisfying punch to the carnage.
The supporting cast is solid, even if some talent feels underused. Sharon Stone hams it up gloriously as villainous drug lord Lendina, but she’s barely in the film, a shame, as she’s clearly having fun and could have carried a lot more of the antagonistic weight. Colin Hanks fares better as a smarmy, corrupt sheriff who knows exactly which palms to grease and which threats to ignore. Returning players RZA and Christopher Lloyd bring back the oddball energy, with RZA getting a handful of scene-stealing moments thanks to his katana work, and Lloyd continuing to be a delightful wildcard as he chomps on cigars and tears people to shreds with a massive machine gun.
Family dynamics remain central to the Nobody formula, with Hutch’s struggle to balance “husband and dad” mode with “efficient killing machine” mode providing much of the film’s throughline and laughs. The sequel pushes the “family vacation” element harder, giving his wife and kids a bit more to do without ever fully integrating them into the action. There’s an attempt to make the violence feel like part of Hutch’s ongoing effort to protect and bond with his family, but it doesn’t quite land with the same punch as the first film’s suburban siege that had shades of “A History of Violence” where middle-aged man could only feel useful or alive when he's killing countless people.
That, in a way, is Nobody 2’s biggest problem, it’s perfectly fine, but it’s essentially a remix of the first film. The beats are familiar: opening in a police interrogation room after the events, the daily routine of Hutch that gets him down, the reluctant escalation into violence, the creative fight locations, the comically overprepared final showdown. The music choices aren’t as memorable this time, the style and visuals feel more workmanlike, and the violence, while certainly plentiful, lacks that handful of truly jaw-dropping moments that made the original stick. It’s undeniably entertaining in the moment, but the déjà vu is hard to shake. Part of me was hoping for a “John Wick: Chapter 2” where the world is expanded and opened up, but it's not as ambitious with its goals, instead just happily offering you up more of the same.
For 89 lean minutes, the pacing is tight, the tone is light enough to make the ultraviolence feel fun rather than oppressive, and Odenkirk remains a joy to watch in a role that plays entirely to his strengths. He’s already said he’s up for making at least four of these, and honestly, I’m fine with that. Hutch Nobody isn’t breaking new ground, but as a vessel for inventive action and gallows humour, he’s still good company.
Nobody 2 may be more of the same, but when “the same” is this competent and enjoyable, sometimes that’s enough. The tight runtime, game performance from Bob Odenkirk, a fun setting and a series of highly brutal set-pieces keep it a very enjoyable time, even if you wish there was less rehashing.
'Nobody 2' is out now in cinemas
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