The main selling point of Nobody is seeing Bob Odenkirk commit some John Wick-style violence. It’s an unexpected turn for the mostly comedic and drama star who’s currently best known for his roles in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, but the movie cleverly repositions Odenkirk as an everyman action hero. He’s just a regular suburban father with a secret past. Sounds familiar? It should be, as this is written by Derek Kolstad who also wrote the John Wick trilogy. The difference is, however, that the character of John Wick has finally achieved peace and contentment after leaving his assassin days behind, while Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) feels emasculated living a “normal” life.

Nobody opens with a montage of Hutch’s daily routine. He wakes up and has breakfast with his family, scans his transit card for the bus to go to work, goes home, and repeat five days a week. And every time, he misses the garbage truck by mere seconds. It’s become a source of his frustration and detachment to the point that it’s eaten away at his marriage to Becca (Connie Nielsen). At work, Hutch is stuck with pencil-pushing job at a manufacturing company owned by his father-in-law (Michael Ironside). All things point to him just being a regular old nobody. But the movie does not dwell in his mundane reality too much.

Around five minutes in, two burglars rob the Mansells one night. Hutch has the opportunity to take one of them down, but ultimately decides against it, much to the dismay of his son. Even the cop responding to the burglary asks Hutch if he took a swing at them. “I wish they’d have picked my place, you know? Could have used the exercise,” his neighbor says the next day. Everyone around him seem disappointed at his perceived weakness, his incapability to protect his family and be a hero. But Hutch finally snaps when the invaders may have unknowingly taken a kitty-cat bracelet belonging to his daughter, whom he’s particularly fond of. He tracks them down to retrieve it, and this is where we see glimpses of Hutch’s old life. But it doesn’t start to fully unravel until he rides a bus home.

The bus scene is where the real action of Nobody begins. Seeing a group of drunk and rowdy troublemakers harass a young woman, Hutch’s smile slowly comes back. It’s the grin of someone about to enjoy unleashing hell into these hooligans. Unlike similar movies about retired mercenaries, Hutch misses that life as it was the one thing that he was actually good at. And when Hutch finally lets go, it’s beautiful chaos. Thanks to same team behind John Wick, the fight choreography is cleverly crafted, and perfectly displays the skill rust of someone who hasn’t done this in a long time. It’s Hutch familiarizing himself with his old life once again, like an addict relapsing.

Nobody does not really break new ground. It plays around the same tropes from better films in the genre, like featuring yet another Russian antagonist in Yulian (Aleksey Serebryakov). What it does have that’s new is Bob Odenkirk; an unconventional choice but someone who brings a particular air of freshness to the table that makes it worth the watch. Odenkirk doesn’t particularly look impressive or menacing, at least in the beginning. Although he carries himself as a, well, nobody, Odenkirk sells both sides of his character’s persona. When he finally dives back into his old self, his demeanor quickly changes, making his violent past believable. He’s more sure of himself, and more calculated in his decisions. Witnessing the performance he gives makes me appreciate Nobody even more when it could easily have starred some aging action star who’s looking for a quick payday. Rounding up his family is his father David (Christopher Lloyd) and his brother Harry (RZA), who make a pretty entertaining supporting cast of mercenaries.

With just a runtime of 92 minutes, Nobody goes by fast. There’s a certain charm in its tightness that’s mostly lost in modern studio films, which are pushing runtimes longer and longer for the sake of plot. The movie does not dwell in these things too much, leaving behind any pretenses of a well-rounded story. It’s simple, straight, and most of all, presents a crazy good time. I particularly love the running joke of Hutch explaining his old life to dying people, much to his frustration. Nobody is the turn-your-brain-off action movie that’s been missing lately. And besides, what else have you got to watch right now, anyway?

Rating: ★★★★☆