By Everyone needs a vacation. When you’re exhausted and need a recharge, stepping away from it all can be super healthy and relaxing. For myself, I’ve actually been on vacation for two weeks, enjoying the blistering heat and humidity of Florida. During that time, I’ve been catching up on movies (some good like Eddington, some bad like War of the Worlds), heading to the beach and tanning, playing games on my Game Boy Advance, and resting. Now I feel more rejuvenated than ever. Vacations are meant to be fun, and on a certain level, Nobody 2 understands that.
Sure, at heart, it’s still an action movie like the first film, but there’s much less of a focus on drama and more on providing a mindless action spectacle. It’s a movie about vacations that perfectly captures the vibe of what a summer vacation is like. It’s the kind of movie that’s perfect for a summer blockbuster, but if it were to have been released at any other point in the year, it probably wouldn’t have registered on anyone’s radar. Vacations are fun, but when the summer’s done, unless they’re truly great, will anyone really remember them?
Nobody 2
Director: Timo Tjahjanto
Release Date: August 15, 2025 (Theatrical)
Rating: R
Following the events of the first film, Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) is now forced back into the life of a government hitman in order to pay off the debt he earned for killing a Russian gangster. He’s become distant from his family and realizes that he needs to find some way to bring them together. So, Hutch decides to take them on vacation to the one place that he remembers nothing but joy from — a small carnival town called Plummerville. Everything’s fine at first, until Hutch’s temper gets the better of him and he begins to learn that Plummerville isn’t the tourist trap that it seems to be on the surface. Instead, it’s a front for a huge smuggling operation that he’s begrudgingly forced to take down in order to make sure his family has a fun vacation.
At first, Nobody 2 feels pretty derivative. Despite the growth that Hutch went through in the first film, he starts off in a pretty similar situation. He’s miserable working as a hitman, his family rarely sees him, his wife is fed up with him, and he’s looking for a change of pace. The context is, of course, different, but being this similar to the first film, it makes the ending of that film feel meaningless. I know that some action franchises tend to ignore continuity in favor of delivering thrills, but for a more character-driven alternative to John Wick, it’s disappointing how little any of the first movie actually mattered. Sure, his family is more aware of his brutal methods, but they rarely bring it up.
Once the intro wraps up and we make our way to Plummerville, the film perks up significantly. We genuinely get a sense that everyone wants to have fun on this trip, and even if Plummerville gives off some sketchy amusement park vibes, it still at least feels like an interesting and unique setting for an action film. There are fights in arcades, water parks, duck boats, and even a fun sequence in a hall of mirrors. The action doesn’t reach the same level of brutality as the first film, nor is it as impressive, quite honestly, but much like the first film, it isn’t trying to elevate the genre. The only thing the film really has going for it is Bob Odenkirk.
Copyright: Universal
Much like the first Nobody, Odenkirk is the best thing about Nobody 2. While he’s not quite as sullen and depressed as his last appearance, he trades that in for a more annoyed attitude. You can sympathize with him as he doesn’t want to worry about fighting or paying off his debts and just wants to sit by a pool with his wife and do absolutely nothing. Everything he does is focused solely on getting back to his vacation, like trying to bargain with some goons to leave him alone for a week. It’s not that he’s exuding desperation, but it’s more like if you’re on vacation and you suddenly get a work call from your boss that rips you straight out of it. You want nothing more than to just get back to doing nothing, and that is a mood that Odenkirk captures perfectly.
The cast, in general, seems to be having a lot of fun. Most of the first film’s cast returns, and it’s clear from the second they step into Plummerville that the levity of the film really sinks in. I mean, Christopher Lloyd struts into the movie wearing a Hawaiian shirt, smoking a cigar, and not having a care in the world, complete with a shit-eating grin. Connie Nielsen gets a chance to use a hunting rifle to shoot people in the eye with bear tranquillizers. Even the main villain, a mob boss named Lendina (Sharon Stone), chews the scenery every chance she gets, going into a full dance number at the thought of murdering Hutch and his family. There’s a bit of a running joke that whenever Hutch is in a fight, he has to shout or at least sternly berate the person he’s beating senseless that he doesn’t want to fight him because he’s on vacation.
There’s no two ways about it – Nobody 2 can feel like a bit of a parody at times. It’s so ridiculous that any attempt the film has to be serious, it can’t convincingly pull it off. Every time the movie tries to make a big deal about Lendina and her operation in Plummerville, Nobody 2 almost immediately takes the piss, thanks to Odenkirk’s remarks about wanting to be left alone or the setting being too comical to take seriously. There’s somewhat of a discussion about fatherhood and the importance we place on preserving happy memories, and those moments do land when they pop up, but this does make the film feel tonally confusing whenever it tries to be serious. Granted, it’s not a full-blown satire like The Naked Gun and does feel more grounded, but the dramatic moments are never given the time or the attention they need.
Copyright: Universal
On that note, is it weird to anyone else that Nobody 2 even exists? The first film wasn’t a big hit, so seeing a sequel strut out four years later is a bit perplexing, made all the more odd given the tonal shift. Don’t get me wrong, I like that this film is a lot less dour than the first and knows how to crack a joke, but was anyone asking for this? It doesn’t feel like a vanity project, since I think Odenkirk already has enough clout as an actor, and trying to see him pivot to action would be head-tilting to say the least. It’s not directed by the same person as the first film, with acclaimed Indonesian director Timo Tjanjanto, known for Netflix classics Headshot and The Night Comes For Us, coming across like a director for hire. It’s not even setting up anything noteworthy for a potential Nobody 3. This film just exists in this nebulous void that no one can really explain.
Much like any vacation, Nobody 2 feels ephemeral. It’s mindless and a pretty good palette cleanser from more dramatic films, and by the time you leave the theater, you’ll have a smile on your face, but forget almost anything about the plot a few hours later. Then it’ll fade away into the recesses of your mind, only for you to think about it months from now with wistful nostalgia, but unable to remember anything clearly about it other than the general mood. Yes, Nobody 2 is fun, and it’s clear everybody in it is having fun making it, but it’s quickly forgotten about once reality sets in and other, more interesting, movies begin to release.
