Nobody (2021 film)

Nobody is a 2021 American action thriller film directed by Ilya Naishuller and written by Derek Kolstad. The film, which stars Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Aleksey Serebryakov, RZA, and Christopher Lloyd, follows a mild-mannered family man who returns to his former life of an assassin after he and his family become the target of a vengeful crime lord. Odenkirk and David Leitch are among the film's producers.

Universal Pictures released Nobody theatrically in the United States on March 26, 2021, and in the United Kingdom on June 9, 2021. The film grossed $57 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences and Odenkirk's performance. A sequel is in development.

Plot
Hutch Mansell sits inside of an interrogation room, heavily bruised and injured. Two FBI agents interrogate him about his identity, before Hutch responds that he's simply "nobody".

In a flashback, Hutch leads an ordinary, mundane life as an office worker with his emotionally estranged wife Becca, teenage son Blake and young daughter, Abby. One night, two thieves break into their house with a gun. Blake jumps one of them and Hutch picks up a golf club but does not swing. The thieves leave.

Everyone thinks Hutch a failure for not fighting, but he reveals to his brother Harry that he held back because he knew the burglar's gun was unloaded. His brother-in-law Charlie offers Hutch a gun for protection, which he refuses. Hutch offers to buy out his father-in-law Eddie's business, but Eddie considers it a bad offer.

The following evening, Abby realizes her bracelet is missing, so Hutch sets out to find it. Suspecting one of the thieves took it, he recalls seeing a tattoo on one of them and traces it back to a tattoo parlor. Hutch locates the thieves and demands they return the bracelet, but leaves in frustration after realizing they do not have it and were likely robbing to pay for their infant’s medical bills.

While on a bus heading home, a group of intoxicated thugs board the bus and begin harassing a young woman; Hutch brutally fights them off. Unbeknownst to him, the group's leader, Teddy, is the brother of Yulian Kuznetsov, a Russian crime lord safeguarding the mob's Obshchak money (a common treasury used to settle disputes in the Russian mafia). Hutch breaks Teddy's windpipe before performing a crude tracheotomy with a straw to allow him to breathe, although he falls into a coma.

Hutch returns home and is bandaged by Becca, who knows of his past. He vents his frustrations about living a mundane life to her, before they reaffirm their love for one another. Meanwhile, Yulian manages to identify and locate Hutch using his dropped metro card, so sends a team to his home to capture him while blackmailing a United States Department of Defense official to uncover Hutch's past.

Harry calls Hutch ahead and warns him of Teddy's connection to Yulian. He suggests he check with The Barber, Hutch's former government handler. When the capture team arrives, Hutch hides his family and kills most of the attackers. He is immobilized by an electric taser, and taken by the Russian team. While being transported in the trunk of a car, Hutch finds and empties a canister of fire suppressant into the car. The driver crashes, killing most of the occupants, and freeing Hutch. Hutch returns home and reveals that he is a former "auditor", an assassin employed by the United States Intelligence Community. While working as such, Hutch spared a target who later reformed and lived happily with a new family. Wanting a similar life, Hutch retired and settled down.

Hutch sends his family to safety and retrieves his hidden gold and cash; he also finds Abby's bracelet under the couch. He burns their house down to dispose of the dead attackers in the basement and steals his neighbor's Dodge Challenger. Two assassins attempt to kill Hutch's father David at his retirement home but he is a retired agent himself and cleverly manages to kill them. Hutch uses his gold to buy his father-in-law's metal fabrication factory and booby-traps the entire place. He then goes to burn Yulian's Obshchak money.

Hutch visits Yulian and offers to end the fighting. Yulian also wants out as he cannot re-finance the entire Obshchak. Knowing of Yulian's plans to retire, Hutch suggests a retirement in one of the lesser-known Caribbean islands away from the Russian mafia, while Hutch gets his life back. However, Yulian and his men pursue Hutch to the factory and surround him nonetheless. Suddenly, Harry and David arrive to assist him, and the trio kill Yulian and the Russian mobsters. The police arrive and the opening scene is revisited, but he is suddenly released without charges following a mysterious phone call.

Three months later, Hutch and his family have returned to normal life and are buying a new house, when Hutch receives a call hinting that more trouble may be on the way.

Cast

 * Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell / "Nobody", a former government assassin
 * Connie Nielsen as Becca Mansell, Hutch's successful wife
 * Aleksei Serebryakov as Yulian Kuznetsov, a Russian mafia boss guarding obshchak, who is targeting Hutch and his family
 * RZA as Harry Mansell, Hutch's brother
 * Michael Ironside as Eddie Williams, Hutch's father-in-law and boss
 * Colin Salmon as The Barber, Hutch's former government handler
 * Christopher Lloyd as David Mansell, Hutch's father and a retired FBI agent
 * Billy MacLellan as Charlie Williams, Eddie's son and Hutch's brother-in-law
 * Gage Munroe as Blake Mansell, Hutch's teenage son
 * Paisley Cadorath as Abby Mansell, Hutch's daughter
 * Aleksandr Pal as Teddy Kuznetsov, Yulian's younger brother
 * Araya Mengesha as Pavel, Yulian's half-Russian half-Ethiopian bodyguard

In addition Daniel Bernhardt and Alain Moussi play two of the Russian goons on the bus. J. P. Manoux appears as a Pentagon employee whom Yulian blackmails.

Development
In January 2018, it was announced Bob Odenkirk was set to star in the film, with Ilya Naishuller directing from a screenplay by Derek Kolstad. Odenkirk also served as a producer, alongside David Leitch. Kolstad executive produced, along with Marc S. Fischer, Annie Marter and Tobey Maguire. STX Entertainment was set to distribute the film. In April 2019, Universal Pictures acquired distribution rights to the film from STX. In October 2019, Connie Nielsen and Christopher Lloyd also joined the cast. Odenkirk avoided bulking up for the role as he didn't want to look like a superhero.

Filming
Principal photography began in Los Angeles in September 2019. Production moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in October 2019. Filming lasted 34 days.

Theatrical
Nobody was originally scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on August 14, 2020, by Universal Pictures. After being repeatedly rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was ultimately released in theaters on March 26, 2021. The film was released in the United Kingdom on June 9, 2021.

Home media
The film was released digitally via premium video-on-demand on April 15, 2021, on digital on June 8, 2021, and on DVD and Blu-Ray on June 22, 2021. The film became available on HBO Max on January 21, 2022, and as part of the streaming deal for Universal Pictures, the film permanently left the library on March 31, 2023.

Box office
Nobody grossed $27.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $29.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $57.5 million, against a production budget of $16 million.

A week prior to its United States release, Variety estimated the film would gross around $5 million in its opening weekend, compared to its expectation that it would open to around $15 million in a pre-COVID marketplace. The film made $2.5 million on its first day, and went on to debut to $6.7 million, topping the box office. 62% of the audience was male, with 56% being under the age of 35. The film fell 56% to $3 million in its second weekend, finishing third.

Critical response
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 84% of 282 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Nobody doesn't break any new ground for the genre, but this viscerally violent thriller smashes, shatters, and destroys plenty of other things – all while proving Bob Odenkirk has what it takes to be an action star." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100 based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 83% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 69% saying they would definitely recommend it.

The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore praised the film's "enjoyably absurd violence", and wrote, "Taking itself much less seriously than the Taken series and its predecessors, it's a wish-fulfillment romp just as ludicrous as any of them but more fun than most." Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing, "Most impressive of all is Odenkirk, who looks and sounds nothing like an action star until it's time for Hutch to become an action star, and we totally believe this physically unimpressive, normally mild-mannered guy as a simmering cauldron of rage who could take that teapot over there and kill ya with it."

Sequel
In March 2021, Connie Nielsen expressed interest in reprising her role for a sequel. The actress stated that she would like to learn more about Hutch and Becca's backstory, while stating that discussions regarding how the two characters met took place on the set of the first film. In June of the same year, it was announced that Kolstad was in the process of writing a sequel, although it had yet to be green-lit by the studio. In March 2022, 87North Productions announced on social media that the studio was looking forward to working on Nobody 2, though no official production date was announced at that time. By August of the same year, Leitch confirmed that work on the script was ongoing, while stating that the studio had committed to releasing a sequel.

In December 2022, McCormick announced that a sequel was officially happening, with principal photography scheduled for 2023. In January 2024, Nielsen confirmed that developments on the sequel were ongoing while confirming that she will reprise her role from the first installment. In March 2024, producer David Leitch confirmed production was set to begin by the end of 2024. In June 2024, Timo Tjahjanto was confirmed to be directing the sequel from a script written by Derek Kolstad, Aaron Rabin and Umair Aleem with Odenkirk reprising his role as well.

Potential crossover
In March 2021, Kolstad was asked about the potential for a crossover between the John Wick franchise and Nobody. As the films are distributed by different companies (Lionsgate and Universal, respectively), Kolstad indicated this was unlikely and stated the franchises were "very different"; at most, he would like to see it done in a small and subtle Easter egg-reference manner. Later that month, director Ilya Naishuller was asked about a potential crossover and, pointing out that two different studios are involved, said "That's all I'll say. I mean, everything's possible. Stranger things have definitely happened, but... yeah."

In June of 2021, Kolstad stated that if there were any crossover, he would prefer it in a minimalist fashion, and opined that he would prefer John Wick and Hutch Mansell be on the same side should the characters share more screen time.