Nobody 2

Having never seen the original film, I came into NOBODY 2 with little expectation, beyond an appreciation for Bob Odenkirk's solid work over the past decade.

This 90-minute carnival ride (literally) of laughs, bloody violence and action over delivered for me, packing a lot of entertainment into a couple bullets short of 90 minutes.

Odenkirk is perfect as Hutch, a former lethal assassin working to pay off his recently incurred "debt" to one of those highly polished, nefarious secret agencies. It's led by The Barber, well embodied by Colin Salmon, bringing all the polish he delivered as chief of staff to Brosnan's OO7 across multiple Bond films.

After a particularly grueling assignment, hilariously recapped by Hutch in brutal segments, Hutch asks for some time off. He needs a family vacation to reconnect with his patient (but running thin on it) wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), son Brady (Gage Munro) and daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath).

His destination of choice? A sun beaten, old water park that holds a special place in his family memories. Plummerville, Wisconsin has seen better days. And worse, its located in one of those backward, Southern towns run by a sheriff who makes Brian Dennehy in "First Blood" look like Andy Taylor.

Colin Hanks (The Offer, King Kong) is a fascinating casting choice as Sheriff Abel. Sporting a lot of attitude and a really bad haircut, Hanks brings the yokel madness to life, even if he is just a bit too eager to please the crime kingpin really running the town. Colin's Dad would be a bit horrified if he was in Sheriff Woody mode.

John Ortiz (World Trade Center, Silver Linings Playbook) is the local, second generation water park owner who's using that front to move a WHOLE lot of cash, drugs and nefarious goods. His father's ties to Hutch's past are a lot of fun to reveal and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) has a lot of fun returning as Hutch's Dad.

Watching Hutch try to unplug and just take a vacation in a town that seems bent on pissing him off at every turn, delivers a lot of laugh out loud moments and great action scenes staged by Indonesian action-film director Timo Tjahjanto, making his American debut in relentless, bloody style.

A never ending parade of beefy, stupid henchmen fall prey to underestimating Hutch, who looks like any suburban Dad but doesn't move like one. I have to dive into how many of the stunts and brutal action scenes that Odenkirk actually did himself. It looks like all of them, and that's pretty amazing. I've read that he went through months of rigorous training and Mr. Odenkirk, it's paid off!

Just when you think the craziness has hit its zenith, we meet the actual crime boss behind all the nefarious activity. She's Lendina, a crazy, dancing maniac who loves to smile in your face before slitting your throat or driving a knife through your hand at the blackjack table. It's a nice little Easter Egg if you remember Ginger in "Casino"!

Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct, Total Recall) goes full tilt-a-whirl as Lendina, in a performance that resides in the wasteland between brilliant and awkward. You can't deny her commitment and 90% of the time it really works. I could have done without the dancing though....

The pace of the film is breakneck, the Rat Pack songs that accompany much of the action are perfection, the slo-mo use during the mayhem is hilarious without ever slipping into John Woo overuse and bottom line: I had one hell of a great time.

Odenkirk is one of the most unlikely action heroes in decades. He's such a great actor that his Hutch is never less than believable. When he's beating the crap out of a bunch of dudes half his age and shouting "I'm...on....VACATION!", he's never been funnier.

Let's hope we haven't seen the last of Hutch.

NOBODY 2 gets a very solid, action & laugh packed B.