Movie Review: Nobody 2 (2025)

Genre: Action Comedy  

Director: Timo Tjahjanto  

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, John Ortiz, Sharon Stone, Christopher Lloyd  

Running Time: 89 minutes  

Synopsis: Supposedly retired undercover assassin Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) never stops working for his handler "the Barber" (Colin Salmon), straining his relationship with his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen). They finally agree to go on vacation with their two kids, plus Hutch's dad David (Christopher Lloyd). Hutch selects the derelict Plummerville amusement park as the vacation destination, because it was the one and only place his dad took him to as a child. Before long, Hutch tangles with the locals, including corrupt sheriff Abel (Colin Hanks) and amusement park owner Wyatt (John Ortiz), but the real behind-the-scenes villain is the ruthless Lendina (Sharon Stone). 

What Works Well: This sequel upgrades the cast, increases the focus on family, and retains the combination of wild action infused with wicked humour. The short duration ensures the next action set-piece is never more than a few minutes away, with Hutch determined that nothing will ruin his family vacation and willing to destroy a small town for the cause. Unlikely star Bob Odenkirk exercises his middle-aged brand of reluctant brawlery in a series of mostly short and sharp encounters with countless goons, the best highlights arriving at an arcade and then on a "duck" boat.

What Does Not Work As Well: Of course the originality is gone, and a sense of stretching the concept creeps in, most notably in a Home Alone at Walley World climax. Sharon Stone is a welcome addition but has to contend with a cartoonish over-the-top character.  

Key Quote:

The Barber (to Hutch): You'll want to de-escalate the situation.

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Movie Review: Nobody (2021)

Genre: Action Thriller

Director: Ilya Naishuller

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, Aleksei Serebryakov

Running Time: 92 minutes

Synopsis: Middle-aged bookkeeper Hutch Mansell (Bob Odendrick) tolerates an average suburban life with his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) and their teenaged son. Hutch's father David (Christopher Lloyd) is a retired FBI agent now living in a care facility. A home invasion reawakens Hutch's violent side, and he takes out his frustrations on a group of thugs terrorizing a transit bus. Unfortunately, one of his victims is the brother of Russian mobster Yulian (Aleksei Serebryakov), who does not appreciate his sibling getting kicked around.

What Works Well: Combining wild violent action with a viciously mean streak of humour, this is a much-better-than-it-needs-to-be blast of entertainment. Star and co-producer Bob Odenkirk aims for a protagonist-with-a-past conflicted within societal subterfuge and understated presence, and director Ilya Naishuller enhances the premise with playful winks resulting in a madcap hour-long payoff. The music and cinematography are often brilliant.

What Does Not Work As Well: The "Russian mobster" villain is a tired device, and some of the climactic plot points and set-piece details suffer from inattention. 

Conclusion: Nobody is most definitely a somebody.



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Movie Review: Inheritance (2020)

A psychological drama with suspense elements, Inheritance posits a bizarre premise and disappears into yawning logic gaps.

Wealthy businessman Archer Monroe dies and leaves his estate to his wife Catherine (Connie Nielsen), $20 million to his son Congressman William Monroe (Chase Crawford), and only $1 million to his daughter, Manhattan District Attorney Lauren Monroe (Lily Collins). But she also receives a cryptic video message and is shocked to discover Archer kept a prisoner (Simon Pegg) in an underground bunker for 30 years. 

The chained man claims to be Morgan Warner, Archer's friend from their younger days, kept in captivity because he knows a secret that could destroy the Monroes. Now he toys with Lauren to try and gain her sympathy and his freedom. Lauren has to sort out truths from lies and protect her family's legacy.

Written by Matthew Kennedy and directed by Vaughn Stein, Inheritance is an independent production stretching too far to unearth surprises. The story foundation of a business tycoon secretly imprisoning a foe for 30 years in a private bunker is wobbly enough to begin with. The subsequent actions of the supposedly smart and idealistic Lauren are well beyond any logic sphere. Morgan Warner as the antagonist, remarkably sharp and healthy after 30 years underground, also skips past authenticity.

The script is littered with loose ends. Lauren is supposedly lead prosecutor on a massive high-profile financial fraud case. She also has a husband and daughter. All of her career and family obligations are abandoned, as are the halfhearted attempts to link some of Warner's revelations about Archer's secrets to Lauren's present life. Meanwhile, brother William's reelection campaign goes nowhere, while corruption in politics is treated as shock news.

Confronted by the script's internal contradictions, the cast members unsurprisingly flounder, Lily Collins struggling to convince as Lauren frustratingly makes every wrong move just to prolong the mystery. Simon Pegg appears to enjoy a different kind of role as the canny victim hiding secrets, and gradually emerges as the one bright spot.

Inheritance loses more credibility with every new revelation, and as they tumble out of the closets, even the skeletons are rolling their eyes.



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The Movies Of Connie Nielsen

All movies starring Connie Nielsen and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

The Devil's Advocate (1997)

Gladiator (2000)

Basic (2003)

3 Days To Kill (2014)

Wonder Woman (2017)

The Catcher Was A Spy (2018)

Inheritance (2020)

Nobody (2021)

Nobody 2 (2025)

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The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: 3 Days To Kill (2014)

An action thriller combined with a light-hearted family drama, 3 Days To Kill suffers from a significant identity crisis.

Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) is a CIA operative combating fatigue and a persistent cough, and his mission in Belgrade to terminate the international arms dealers known as Albino and Wolf does not go well. Ethan is then diagnosed with terminal cancer, given months to live and released from duty. He decides to reconnect with his Paris-based estranged family, and reaches out to ex-wife Christine (Connie Nielsen) and teenaged daughter Zooey (Hailee Steinfeld).

But Ethan's attempted return to domestic life is interrupted by the CIA's Vivi (Amber Heard), who entices him back to action by promising an experimental drug that may cure his disease. Vivi is determined to track down Albino and Wolf, and needs Ethan's efficient assassination skills by her side. Ethan juggles his renewed commitment to family life with bouts of surveillance and violence, and tangles with terrorist associate Mitat, a family man who could lead him to the mobsters.

Co-funded by European production money, 3 Days To Kill features the usual collection of vacationing American actors enjoying travelogue-like locales to boost tourism in the old continent. The talent surrounding the project does hold promise, with none other than Luc Besson conceiving the story and co-writing the script, and one-time action movie darling McG accepting directorial duties.

However, the premise is too similar to Besson's Léon: The Professional (1994), except that the budding fatherly relationship between the killer Ethan and his daughter Zooey never comes close to the requisite levels of tenderness. Instead 3 Days To Kill inserts decent action scenes within long stretches of boredom as Ethan plays hapless dad and makes very slow progress towards connecting with Zooey's life.

Elsewhere, flashes of comedy search for their appropriate place between the family drama and the action mayhem, while the quest to liquidate Albino and Wolf takes the far back seat in the family van, lurching forward in awkward bursts as the villains are reduced to props trotted out whenever some shooting is needed.

Kevin Costner and Hailee Steinfeld occupy the centre of the film and ensure a basic level of competence. Connie Nielsen disappears for long stretches, while Amber Heard wanders in as a superhero movie character demonstrating chill abilities to outdrive anyone and arrive at any scene at just the right moment, her icy quips deadlier than any weapon. In her element within all the Euroglitz, Vivi can just about kill with her attitude and shouldn't really need help to eradicate any targets.

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Movie Review: Wonder Woman (2017)

A superhero adventure, Wonder Woman combines perfunctory Greek mythology with wartime heroics in an entertaining package. The film pushes female empowerment in the name of peace, but is nevertheless weighed down by the genre's heavy anchors.

On the hidden fog-shrouded island of Themyscira, Princess Diana (Gal Gadot) is the daughter of Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), leader of an all-woman Amazonian tribe tasked by Zeus to maintain peace and be ready to fight off warmongering god Ares. Diana is trained by her warrior aunt General Antiope (Robin Wright) to be a fierce combatant, while Hippolyta hints to her daughter that she possesses special powers.

Diana rescues British spy Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) from drowning when his plane crash lands in the adjacent sea. She soon learns that the Great War is raging, and assuming that Ares must be behind the carnage, she perceives it her duty to leave Themyscira and put a stop to the evil. She accompanies Steve to London where he connects with politician Sir Patrick Morgan (David Thewlis), and then onto the trenches of the front lines, where Diana discovers her powers as Wonder Woman. She then has to find a way to stop General Erich Ludendorff (Danny Huston), who is planning to unleash a new highly destructive poison gas with the help of the evil Doctor Isabel Maru (Elena Anaya).

Directed by Patty Jenkins with a budget close to $150 million, Wonder Woman finally comes to the big screen after decades of false starts. The delays were partially caused by the critical and commercial failures of Catwoman (2004) and Elektra (2005) casting doubt on the marketability of a female protagonist in the overcrowded superhero space. Within the tight confines of the genre, Jenkins and writer Allan Heinberg get almost everything right, mixing a mythology-heavy origins story with a World War One action adventure filled with raucous action, villains and the requisite sidekicks.

Themes of duty, sacrifice and the essence of humanity are dealt with in straightforward broad brush strokes. Wonder Woman is a novice in the big bad world of humans, and the film benefits from her sense of learning and discovery. Her initial childlike naivete has to be replaced by a better understanding of the complexities of what humans are capable of, and her journey underpins the film's narrative.

Moments of humour also help, including a conversation between Diana and Steve about sexuality and procreation, and reactions to Diana's warrior mentality invading London circa 1918 and the muddy trenches of a stalemated front.

But for all its polished elements, this is a superhero movie, and the genre is tightly handcuffed by its childish fundamentals. There will be many large scale battles, there will be an overabundance of CGI, and there will be many large explosions, pyrotechnics and destruction on a mammoth scale. It's all remarkably predictable and unspools at the expected intervals, the special effects methodically gaining the upper hand over the humans as the end credits approach. A lot of the dialogue is stiff, and most of the characters are superficial. The 140 minutes do begin to drag.

Helping maintain interest is a terrific Gal Gadot performance. She steps into the role with ease, proving a perfect fit and immediately owning the best Wonder Woman attributes: feminine strength, smarts and curiosity in a perfectly calibrated athletic package.

In a creatively exhausted genre running on fumes, Wonder Woman is a brighter spark than most.

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