“I knew you were dangerous the moment I met you. You were covered in blood.”
Nobody 2 is an assassin-action-family-comedy. It’s a warped version of 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation if, when the family trip ended, Walley World was jury rigged into a fortress that was armed-to-the-teeth. At its heart, the sequel to 2021’s Nobody is a movie about a beleaguered father doing the best he can who takes a break from his job to bond with his family on a long- planned vacation. He finds that he can’t leave his work behind so easily and an orgy of violence follows. Nobody 2 isn’t re-inventing the wheel, but every element clicks into place and works well in this fun, family-oriented (if not family-friendly), bloody, beat-‘em-up.
Nobody 2 is a 2025 Universal Pictures feature directed by Timo Tjahjanto from a story by John Wick creator, Derek Kolstad. Bob Odenkirk leads a cast including Connie Nielsen, RZA, Christopher Lloyd, Sharon Stone, Gage Munroe, John Ortiz, Paisley Cadorath, Colin Hanks and Colin Salmon.
“I’m here with my family, making memories.”
The Barber (Salmon) covers up the events of 2021’s Nobody, forcing Hutch Mansell (Odenkirk) to live a double life. Now deep in debt to his former handler, he returns to his work as an Auditor, a Cleaner for the Intelligence Community. Between Hutch’s missions of mayhem and murder, he sleepwalks through a mundane Suburban life. He can sense a growing distance between him and his wife, Becca (Nielsen) and decides to do something about it. Distracted, he forgets about and completely misses one of his son Brady’s (Munroe) basketball games, This rouses him further and he puts his plan in motion.
When Hutch was a child, his father David (Lloyd), would bring him and his stepbrother Harry (RZA), on summer trips to Plummerville, a hybrid amusement/waterpark near the town by the same name. Hutch tries to make the sale to Becca, Brady and his daughter Sammy (Cadorath). They are lukewarm to his proposal but agree to go along for the adventure. His dad’s excited for the trip and intends to stay at a lodge he has on the outskirts of town. Hutch has also secretly purchased a bottle of wine from Puglia, the region in Italy where he and Becca met, to share with his wife.
Upon arrival in Plummerville, they find many of the attractions closed. Hutch talks to Brady at the arcade and is disturbed to discover that the black eye his son has been sporting isn’t from a foul at the game but rather from a street-fight. Later, Brady is accosted by a local and punches are thrown. The brawl is aggressively stopped by arcade security. Seeing Brady’s dangerous trajectory, Hutch tries desperately to de-escalate the situation. Hutch wants to lead by example and tamp down the conflict. He listens to the heated security head rant and gesticulate, snapping his fingers at Hutch’s face and genuinely apologizes. The security guy doesn’t take the apology well and biffs Sammy in the back of the head as Hutch ushers his family out.
He loads his wife and the kids into their SUV. Thunder ominously rumbles in the distance as Hutch tells Becca that he forgot his phone inside. They wait in the vehicle as Hutch returns to the arcade and promptly, brutally and efficiently beats the snot out of each and every security guard present, reserving an especially unpleasant thrashing for Mr. Snappy-fingers.
After Hutch is finished, The Mansells are brought to Sheriff Abel’s (Hanks) office and interrogated. Hutch is taken to meet Wyatt Martin (Ortiz), who tells Hutch that he runs Plummerville and everything in it, including the Sheriff. He wants the Mansells gone, and he wants them gone yesterday. Hutch protests, claiming that he’s here to make some memories with his family. As the recalcitrant Hutch departs, Martin tells Abel to take care of the Mansells and orders him to get his boys together.
Can a government-employed, undercover hitman convince his child that might doesn’t make right? Can Hutch control his rage and become a better example for Brady? Can Becca and Hutch rekindle their flagging romance? Can David and Harry help Hutch out of his jam with the sheriff? What is Martin so ardent to conceal that he orders a hit on tourists? Please see Nobody 2 to find out.
“Don’t bring a machete to a fucking katana-duel. That’s Principle #1!”
Though the assassin-action-family-comedy genre is something of a niche, Nobody 2 is an excellent example of it. Buoyed by brisk dialogue, believable characters and some brilliant stunt and fight-choreography, Nobody 2 is a genuine surprise. The film is a hodgepodge of creaky tropes made clean and fresh in Kolstad and Tjahjanto’s capable hands. Combat sequences are clear, easy to follow and devastatingly savage. There is a phenomenal, notable synchronicity between the on-screen action and the music from the soundtrack that elevates the fight scenes and grants them greater impact.
Nobody 2 contains some incredible performances, from Nielsen’s weary Becca and Odenkirk’s perfectly normal Hutch who turns into a seething rage-monster at the flick of a switch to Christopher Lloyd’s trademark zaniness and the RZA’s Zen-like imperturbability as Harry Mansell.
This reviewer had an incident with an usher at his screening, but that unpleasantness was not able to derail his enjoyment of Nobody 2. There are pieces and influences in this movie that seem to have been drawn from dozens of disparate sources. Nobody 2 doesn’t do anything new at all. But what it does, it does extraordinarily well. Nobody 2: the family that slays together, stays together.
Nobody 2 is in theatres 8/15/2025.
Brian Isaacs - Executive Editor / Publisher