Stating that the movie Nobody was a surprise breakout hit is honest and obvious since no one saw Bob Odenkirk coming in this role as Hutch Mansell. The guy has been great as the shady lawyer from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, but thinking he had it in him to play in an action role was kind of above and beyond what anyone really believed. But lo and behold he took that role and ran with it in such a great way that Nobody has easily become one of the most noteworthy movies of the year at this point. The bus scene alone has managed to make him into an action icon at this time, and the unpredictable way this role came about has made it clear that Odenkirk can in fact do this and would no doubt like to do this moving forward. But the thing to think about now is whether or not Nobody should become a franchise or if it should be kept tight and to the point without getting too far out of hand. Some might wonder what the difference is, so I’ll gladly explain it in a way that might make sense.
The Lethal Weapon movies might not be the greatest example of a tightly-run ship since they became a bit too predictable, but the John Wick movies are a great example since much like Hutch, Wick is someone that managed to leave the life of danger and adventure behind. Yes, Wick is an assassin and Hutch is a government operative, but they’re both skilled in the same manner since they’re both assassins. The point here though is that Wick, who was out of the business much like Hutch, was pulled back in by circumstance and is on a journey that so far has had plenty of harrowing escapes and intense action sequences that are the result of the actions he took in the first movie. His journey is still ongoing but the fact is that everyone knows, or expects, that it will end at some point and the movies will be over, at least from Wick’s perspective. The idea that Hutch could be on the same journey is perhaps what people might expect with this next movie, but there is a downside if this happens.
Another franchise that shows an individual on a personal journey through each movie is the Die Hard story. John McClane isn’t an assassin but he is a tough-as-nails cop that keeps showing up situations where he typically shouldn’t be, but somehow he blunders into them anyway. But throughout the many movies that have been made, the Die Hard franchise has shown McClane change from one movie to the next. The only downside is that the Die Hard franchise has really become a bit of a joke, where John Wick’s story has continued to be just as edgy and just as intense. Both franchises have managed to show a few things here and that couldn’t possibly happen in real life, such as a cop taking on multiple terrorists and killing them all while getting banged up in the process. Then of course there’s a single assassin in a city full of assassins that simply won’t die no matter how badly he’s hurt. In essence, John McClane and John Wick are supermen that personify the action genre.
That’s not how Hutch Mansell has been depicted. Hutch is a guy that walked away from the life of an auditor, an assassin in other words, in order to have a family and life of his own. Once he decided to get back into the life it was obvious that he was a bit rusty since the bus scene saw him take a beating that he still walked away from, even if he wasn’t feeling too hot at the end. But he’s easy to see as a working man’s assassin since he doesn’t appear to have the same kind of access that John Wick does when it comes to weaponry, and he’s not quite as bull-headed as John McClane. But what Hutch is capable of is seen near the end of the movie when he, his father, and his half-brother run riot on those that are trying to kill them. It’s very possible that Nobody 2 could be another great movie, but it’s also possible that too much of a good thing can bury an idea.
The desire to see another Nobody movie has already been expressed. But the hope is that this second movie will show the continued evolution of Hutch as a human being and not a simple return to a life of killing and espionage that would take Hutch from the life he worked so hard to attain. There has to be a balance somewhere that will allow him to evolve but still manage to be the action star he’s proven to be at this point.
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