The original ‘Nobody’ in 2021 was a masterclass in subversion: Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell, an overlooked family man, a true ‘nobody’ who revealed himself capable of staggering violence when pushed too far. Like Cronenberg’s ‘A History of Violence’, it asked what happens when words fail and a man resorts to extremes.

The sequel, unfortunately, feels like it’s just going through the motions. The conceit this time is that Hutch and his family go on vacation, only to find their theme park getaway crawling with corruption. What was once fresh – the eruption of brutality into the suburban home – is now relocated to a campsite and holiday accommodation. It delivers spectacle, yes, but little of the wit or freshness that made the first film so effective.

The film benefits from some notable additions – Sharon Stone brings star wattage in a supporting role, Christopher Lloyd returns as Hutch’s father, and Connie Nielsen reprises her role as his wife. Yet this is still Odenkirk’s film. The problem is that Hutch is no longer the reluctant killer of the first instalment – he’s now an unstoppable ‘killing machine’ who must convince his wife that he’s still an ordinary man. The tension is inverted, but the effect is thinner.

The tonal shift sometimes borders on parody. At one point, a tourist boat is full of passengers wearing headphones, calmly gazing out at the sea while chaos and carnage erupt just behind them. The sheer volume of villains – local sheriffs, gangs, and endless faceless henchmen – makes the film feel less like a thriller and more like a spoof in the vein of ‘The Naked Gun’.

There are moments of amusement in the idea that this is a family vacation where the memories being made are not the ones anyone hoped for. Yet too often the film falls back on tired tropes: buildings exploding, last-minute escapes, and overblown shootouts. It even recalls mid-’90s actioners like ‘The Specialist’, which also starred Sharon Stone, but without their guilty-pleasure charm.

In the end, ‘Nobody 2’ is a film that perhaps nobody really needs. The original worked because it was about a ‘nobody’ discovering extraordinary capacities whereas this sequel simply repeats the formula, bigger and louder, but emptier. Not without its charms, but it does suggest that ‘Nobody’ should have remained a one-off.