I'm a massive fan of the revenge and vigilante action subgenres. For me, the movie that launched this whole universe was 1974’s Death Wish, starring Charles Bronson—a film they used to broadcast on network TV back home. Later came the 2018 remake starring Bruce Willis, who I think was a worthy successor. These films laid the groundwork for lone vigilante cinema, or what are commonly known as vigilante movies.
I love how this genre has evolved, and Nobody is a textbook example of that evolution. Classic and modern films share a core similarity: the protagonist seems like an average, everyday citizen keeping a low profile. However, back in the day, the hero might have been an architect or a surgeon with zero military or criminal training to qualify them as a vigilante.
In contrast, more recent movies like Monkey Man, John Wick, Upgrade, The Equalizer, and Nobody—just to name a few—feature protagonists who also pose as regular guys, but in reality, they're hiding a deadly past. They are elite assassins, super-soldiers, or reformed criminals who were once unstoppable forces, but grew tired of that lifestyle and sought peace.
That’s precisely the premise of Nobody. We're introduced to a man named Hutch (Bob Odenkirk), who appears to have a good, fairly normal life on paper, but he’s basically an automaton. He goes through the motions every single day, repeating his routine, but nothing seems to bring spark or excitement back into his life. When his house gets broken into, he does nothing to stop it, leaving everyone around him viewing him as a coward. That lingering frustration pushes him to go out one night in search of the burglars.
On his way home, he runs into a group of thugs on a bus and hands them the beatdown of a lifetime. It’s like he suddenly snaps back to life—he was so pent-up, needing to feel danger, action, and even pain again. This is easily one of the most iconic action sequences in modern pop culture memory; as younger audiences would say today, it’s pure, unmatched aura.
This cathartic release comes at a high cost for Hutch, though. Among the men he nearly beats to death is the brother of one of the city's most dangerous Russian mob bosses. They vow revenge and go after him, triggering a non-stop spiral of action, gunfire, brutal fights, body counts, and relentless violence. Nobody really knows who Hutch is; in one scene, he barely gets out that he used to work as an "auditor" for three-letter agencies (like the FBI or CIA)—the guy sent in to clean up and leave no survivors, which explains why there's no paper trail on him.
It’s awesome seeing Bob Odenkirk step into this ruthless, unstoppable badass role, especially after watching him play Saul Goodman—a timid guy who wouldn't hurt a fly, but was insanely cunning. I think that contrast is a huge factor in why the film was such a hit, turning it into an instant cult favorite. I don't know why it took me so long to finally watch it, but I’m planning on checking out the sequel soon. Even if it didn't quite make the same splash as the first, you don't always need a masterclass script; sometimes it's just about sitting back and enjoying pure action and thrilling, epic moments. People talk a lot about "aura" nowadays—well, this movie belongs to the exact genre that invented it.
Media from TMBD galleryRating: 80/100
