Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Nobody 2 review says the sequel is a bit lighter and fluffier than 2021’s surprise hit, but the humble guy beats bullies comedy is a kick all the same.

No one saw Nobody coming. The original 1921 hit starring Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell, a humble family man with an explosive temper and the tools to pulverize the bullies who set it off, was a sleeper hit, leaving those of us who cheer for the underdog delightfully satisfied.

Savvy filmmakers made a wise choice to make us wait four years for a sequel. Who could have foreseen current day bullies getting more powerful, able to threaten almost all of us or our loved ones, for one reason or another? Today it’s more fun than ever to see the powerful bad guys get what’s coming to them, even if one of them is the iconic (and here, maniacally scary) Sharon Stone.

Nobody 2’s director Timo Tjahjanto (The Shadow Strays, The Big Four) has a lighter, more blatantly comedic touch than the original’s, Ilya Naishuller (Heads of State, Hardcore Henry). Odenkirk has the flexibility to easily adapt to either style. He’s the same mild-mannered, slightly nerdy family man, with a short fuse when it comes the meek getting picked on.

And when the meek includes his beloved wife, son and daughter, all hell breaks loose.

Nobody 2 review — Where Hutch goes, trouble follows

This time around, Hutch, who is now a workaholic assassin, realizes he’s being a neglectful father and husband, and a family vacation is just the thing to bring them back together. He selects the same destination that enchanted him as a child: a kitschy tourist town with an even kitschier amusement/water park, called Plummerville.

How was he to know that the town had become a hotbed of corruption, the base for a powerful international crime ring, run by a sketchy theme park owner (John Ortiz), and shady sherif (Collin Hanks as a beady eyed bad guy, which is not a character we’re accustomed to seeing him take on) and a merciless queen pin played by Stone?

The rest of the cast is a lot of fun as well—including Christopher Lloyd as Hutch’s father, a Hunter S. Thompson-esque, cigar chewing grandpa, and Connie Nielsen as Hutch’s long suffering wife with a surprising spine of steel. RZA also returns as Hutch’s now Zen but lethal brother.

Violent? Yes, but in a melodramatic, comedic sort of way where the evil villains get their just deserts at the hands of seemingly normal folks like you and me, who were pushed to the limits. It’s not for kids, but the rest of the family, including salty grandmas, will likely get a kick out of it.

Rated: R

1 Hour 29 Minutes

If this Nobody 2 review encourages you to fight your way to the cineplex for a watch, get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Nobody 2 review says the sequel is a bit lighter and fluffier than 2021’s surprise hit, but the humble guy beats bullies comedy is a kick all the same.