Comedy writer, comedian, producer and BREAKING BAD and BETTER CALL SAUL star Bob Odenkirk (LITTLE WOMEN; NEBRASKA; THE DISASTER ARTIST; BOULEVARD; THE SPECTACULAR NOW) refuses to be pigeonholed in his career.  He can now add “action star” to his list of many talents thanks to a new film that sees him kicking some serious butt while using some of his Saul Goodman ingenuity.

Like the film’s title, Hutch Mansell (Odenkirk) is a NOBODY.  Married to Becca (Connie Nielsen, the WONDER WOMAN films; JUSTICE LEAGUE), the middle-aged father of two lives an uneventful existence working as an accountant in his father-in-law’s metal fabrication business.  That all changes, though, after his house is broken into one night and the two thieves make off with his watch and his young daughter’s kitty cat bracelet.  Although Hutch certainly could have fought back at the time, he chose not to, and that decision puts distance between him and his family who now see Hutch as a total loser who can’t look after them.  The next day, while on his way home, a gang of rowdy Russian thugs board his bus.  Hutch decides to take out his frustrations on them, sending them all to the hospital with serious injuries.  What he doesn’t know, though, is that one of those Russians is the younger brother of Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksei Serebryakov, LEVIATHAN), a notorious mob figure, and Kuznetsov is not about to let that incident go unpunished.  Unfortunately, for Kuznetsov, what HE doesn’t know is that Hutch isn’t just any boring, suburban dad.

NOBODY is John Wick, the Comedy, which isn’t too surprising given that the film is written by JOHN WICK creator Derek Kolstad and co-produced by David Leitch.  Odenkirk brings his easy-going charm and deadpan humour to the project, making NOBODY a delightful romp even while the body count mounts.  Odenkirk, at 58, shows audiences that he’s up for the rigors of the impeccably choreographed fight sequences.  In a recent interview, the actor said that he underwent two years of training to prepare for the stunts.  (With Leitch on board, would we expect anything less?)  Hutch isn’t the only one doling out the hurt though.  He’s joined in the carnage by his half-brother, Harry (rapper RZA, MR. RIGHT), and his father, David (Christopher Lloyd, the BACK TO THE FUTURE franchise), both of whom come out of “retirement” for the occasion.  Lloyd, who is 82, is showing no signs of slowing down.  His latest film, SENIOR MOMENT, with 90-year-old William Shatner, was released last weekend.  He has another seven film projects in the works.

Director Ilya Naishuller (HARDCORE HENRY) paces the film well, finding the right balance of action and humour that includes a running gag involving one of the characters.  As we’ve seen with so many action films these days, Kolstad and Naishuller leave the door wide open for more adventures of Hutch et al.  Leitch has even said that he’s open to the possibility of a John Wick-Hutch Mansell crossover.  The film also features a wickedly apt soundtrack of classic hits from the likes of Steve & Eydie, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Andy Williams and Pat Benatar.

NOBODY opens in cinemas tomorrow (April 1) in Hong Kong.  S’aul good, man!

Watch the review recorded on Facebook Live on Friday, April 2nd, 8:30 am HK time!

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