Nobody (2021): A Short Film Review

This is probably the first enjoyable film we’ve seen this year. Apart from being genuinely well-made, this film is also much-needed during a time where half of the world is still stuck in their rooms with fleeting dreams of normality being restored.

Nobody (2021)is an action film with a note of dark comedy. Depending on how much you enjoy action films and the adrenaline-pumping sequences that come with them, the extent to which you will enjoy this film is going to vary. However, if you enjoy films from the likes of John Wick, chances are you’re going to like this film a lot.

And that is because Nobody is written by none other than Derek Kolstad, the creator of the John Wick franchise himself.

(Image credit: Casey's Movie Mania)

The plot is as simple as you would want for a movie like this. We’ve got a man with a beautiful family, living a beautiful, peaceful and yet kind of boring life, who is suddenly thrown into a situation where he needs to become an action hero. It’s a fairly simple premise, with a twist that will certainly remind you of the movie John Wick.

The action sequences in the film are brilliantly shot. The choreographies are great. Bob Odenkirk who plays the main character traded in the smart-mouth Saul for a quiet man whose presence indicates a kind of suppressed anger that you keep wanting to see released. The other actors performed just as well. However, if we dive any deeper into some of these stellar performances, we might risk ruining the surprise.

So, we won’t.

The only real downside to this movie is the directing. There’s none of the crisp, aesthetically pleasing and stylistic direction akin to the John Wick franchise. You can tell that it’s a less competent director. But that does not mean the directing is bad, it’s just not as good, rather average. You hope it would be better, but you’re still quite satisfied with what you ended up getting.

(Image credit: Caillou Pettis Movie Reviews)

What really lifts this movie up turns out to be the context for our viewing. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on with many still forced to quarantine and make do with the so-called new normal, this movie satisfies our desire to break through the frame. We are bored of the normal, so this movie’s intentional attempt to release the demons from inside its main character is quite relatable to us.

If anything, this movie’s positive reception tells us that artforms such as movies still have that quality and capacity to provide vicarious experiences even when the most exciting part of your week is to go grocery shopping.