The action sequel didn’t fare well on its opening weekend, but don’t miss this absolute banger.
A few weeks ago M3GAN 2.0, the bonkers sequel to the original sleeper horror hit, surprisingly underperformed and was ushered out of theaters after a short run. Which is a shame because 2.0 is an incredibly entertaining movie that took some big risks and should’ve been a tremendous crowd-pleaser. The misfire caused both producer Jason Blum and the industry at large to question why on earth the film failed to find a bigger audience, with Blum taking it on the chin, and various theories offered, mostly centered on questioning the film’s taking too much liberty with the concept as a hard left-turn sequel, deliberately shifting away from horror into more of a wry action-comedy.
The truth is a lot simpler and scarier. John Carpenter can tell you: You don’t have control. Sometimes you do everything right and make a hell of a movie, even market it appropriately, and it just doesn’t take off. And it doesn’t help that the industry is cannibalizing itself with streaming platforms that pull earnings away from traditionally profitable box office and physical home video channels.
Right now the incredibly entertaining Nobody 2 is finding itself in a similar position, underperforming in its opening weekend despite being a terrific and loony sequel with a lighter tone and more intense action than the original. And I’d implore you to give it a shot. I’m not sure if I can call it the best movie of the summer, but for me it’s definitely the most fun. And that’s a strong statement, considering how incredible this season has been (Weapons, Superman, Fantastic Four, The Naked Gun, The Phoenician Scheme, Bad Guys 2, etc).
I loved the original Nobody, about Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk), a family man who harbors a secret past as an assassin for the US government. Hutch had moved on to a simpler life as an office drone, but a chain of events including a home break-in and an altercation with some gangsters unleashes his killer instinct and caged fury, especially after his family is threatened.
The sequel finds Hutch and his family in need of a vacation. Hutch is back to working for Uncle Sam, in order to pay off a debt incurred from the events of the first film, putting strain on the family. So the Mansells pack up and go on a family trip to Plummerville, a tourist trap town with an amusement park – a place he remembers fondly from his own childhood.
Remember in A Good Day to Die Hard when John McClane kept grumbing, “I’m on vacation!” as a protest to everything going on, and it was meant to be amusing but made no sense because he totally was not, in fact, on vacation? Nobody 2 is actually about that, taking that funny concept and running with it.
Hutch wants nothing more than to relax and enjoy his time with his family, kicking back, having some drinks, and taking a ride on a duck-themed waterbus. But once again a series of events forces him to get involved. Things aren’t right in Plummerville, and almost immediately Hutch gets on the wrong side of the locals, including a hardass sheriff (Colin Hanks) and the theme park’s owner and local magnate (John Ortiz). And the more he tries to de-escalate the situation, the worse it gets – going beyond the local interests and invoking the wrath of the big boss pulling the strings behind the scenes (Sharon Stone).
The film culminates in an in unlikely but cheer-worthy team-up, and a showdown in a closed amusement park rigged up Home Alone-style with booby traps, with the Mansells (including returning cast members Christopher Lloyd, RZA, and Connie Nielsen) taking on a small army of mob goons.
Brilliant Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto was tapped for this sequel. Tjahjanto is the man behind the intense The Night Comes for Us, arguably the best and most brutal martial arts films of the last decade, as well as the action-comedy The Big 4. He’s a terrific match to this material, not to mention well deserving of moving into some major Hollywood studio movies. In my opinion, he knocks this one out of the park. The escalation and action are wonderful, and the film maintains the righteous fury, catharsis, and release that was so important to the original.
The humorous premise (hitman on vacation) might sound a little silly or farfetched, which may be part of why it’s having trouble finding its footing with audiences. But in the context of the film there’s a perfectly practical – and darkly funny – reason why Hutch runs into trouble away from home.
Nobody 2 is a worthy sequel and an absolute blast. It’s easily one of my top 5 personal favorite movies of 2025 so far, and quite possibly the most straight-up fun thing I’ve seen this year.
A/V Out
