‘NOBODY 2’ RATED R
   
Four years ago, along came a nebbish as the titular figure in the appropriately titled “Nobody,” in which Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk), an outwardly passive family man unveiled his true nature after petty thieves broke into his house, attacked his son, and stole his daughter’s treasured bracelet. 
   
Although he was ostensibly a lunchpail worker at a mundane job, Hutch’s profession as a workaholic assassin enabled him to track down the thieves, but the real story was what happened on the late-night ride home on a municipal bus.

 

The sudden transformation from an ostensible milquetoast to a streetfighter with special skills like that of a martial artist led to a serious beatdown of five thugs who harassed and threatened a couple of passengers.  
   
To say that things didn’t turn out so well for the menacing hoodlums is the proverbial understatement. Brazenly unloading the bullets from his handgun, Hutch proved that all he needed were his fists, feet, and the nearest blunt instrument to vanquish the goons.
   
Similar to a “John Wick” movie, what ensued in “Nobody” was a battery of gun battles, explosions, car crashes, and fist fights resulting in an orgy of intense action. The tone of ridiculously violent action now carries over to the second round of Hutch’s simmering penchant for violence.
   
With “Nobody 2,” Hutch’s beleaguered everyman is now working overtime in a war with assorted criminals as he’s in a huge bind of having to repay $30 million belonging to a Russian mob that he torched in the first film.
   
Meanwhile, Hutch is trying to repair his fractured family life due to his frequent absences. His beloved wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) is becoming as equally estranged from her husband as the children Brady (Gage Munroe) and Sammy (Paisley Cadorath) are from their father.
   
After pummeling five thugs in a hotel elevator, and then facing off with machine gun toting Corsicans and a subsequent violent encounter with Brazilians with machetes, Hutch has to reckon with how his non-stop killing of criminals on behalf of other criminals is stretching home life to a breaking point.
   
The family needs a break, and when Becca mentions it, Hutch seizes the moment and decides the family would bond by taking a road trip to Wisconsin to the water park that was the only vacation he ever had as a kid with his father David (Christopher Lloyd) and brother Harry (RZA).
   
Because of fond memories from his childhood, Hutch pulls his elderly father out of the retirement home to join the family vacation. That David has already demonstrated his proficiency with firearms just might come in handy at some point. 
   
The amusement park in the summer resort town of Plummerville has seen better days. The hotel accommodations are barely adequate; it’s not a four-star resort by any means. The park’s rides and attractions are rather mundane. But the family is willing to make the most of it.
   
It doesn’t take long for things to get interesting. An altercation at the arcade is a little unsettling, but it gets worse when a security guard slaps Hutch’s young daughter on the head.
   
Not wanting a confrontation in front of his family, Hutch returns to the scene under the pretext of having forgotten his cell phone, and proceeds to pummel the offending park workers.
   
Of course, this clash at the park draws the attention of the town’s sinister Sheriff Abel (Colin Hanks), who has ulterior motives of concern that a stranger poses a threat for causing trouble. That the lawman is psychotic adds another edge to his wickedness.
   
Hutch also gets sideways with crooked theme park owner Wyatt Martin (John Ortiz), who has so much to hide in that his ramshackle resort is a cover for a massive illegal operation that is under the protection of the corrupt sheriff.
   
The criminal enterprise belongs to female crime boss Lendina (Sharon Stone), also a casino owner, who treats a cheating customer at cards by nailing his hand to the table with a knife. 
  
With slicked-back hair and wearing dark glasses and a sharp suit, Lendina is the epitome of a viciously unhinged psycho who goes to great lengths to send goons to attack Hutch on a duck boat.
   
The ensuing fight scene on the boat is so wild that the unarmed Hutch uses everything he can grasp as a weapon, from flotation devices and fire extinguisher to an anchor he plants in a goon’s back.
   
Despite all the violence courtesy of an unassuming suburban family man, the “Nobody” films are delightfully amusing in that the nerdy Hutch is so improbably preposterous as the slickly brutal avenger.
   
While lack of familiarity with the original film is only detrimental in that you missed out on the fun, “Nobody 2” can stand on its own for delivering ridiculous action-filled pleasure in a crisp running time of about ninety minutes.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.