2021 has presided over a glut of John Wick action-style movie clones, with just one film getting the formula right. First released in 2014, John Wick attained sweeping critical acclaim due to gritty fight sequences and pulpy world-building alongside Keanu Reeves' standout turn as the titular main character. John Wick's arrival in a year when action movies were at a low ebb meant Chad Stahelski's serving of unrelenting action sequences was consumed greedily en-masse, resulting in the birth of the successful John Wick franchise.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and 2021 has been a year in which many John Wick clones have stepped into the light. Netflix is the main contributor to this glut of action releases, debuting Xtreme, Gunpowder Milkshake, Sweet Girl, and now Kate within three months of each other across summer 2021.
Yet of the action films released this year, only Ilya Naishuller's Nobody succeeds in creating a work with enough gravitas to propel it towards a franchise. Nobody triumphs by avoiding becoming a carbon copy of John Wick's narrative, with its deviation from this well-trodden path fostering intrigue. Nobody also sets itself apart in 2021 through its self-effacing setting and casting choices, contrasting with the overtly serious nature of other action releases the same year.
The John Wick universe's success has largely warped the action genre around its "revenge" pretense in the last seven years, with every studio desperate to create a new John Wick franchise. This is especially true of Netflix, which has churned out release after release in which dangerous characters are wronged, resulting in a rampage of revenge and bloodshed. While the John Wick blueprint is, on a surface level, simplistic, Chad Stahelski's visceral worldbuilding allows the story to flourish beyond the violence that is so often a forced spectacle in modern action movies. Similarly, Nobody paints a fresh picture of the assassin trope, with Hutch Mansell's "overcorrection" a poignant commentary on the stifling nature of suburban life. When the John Wick-esque action does start, and Mansell reverts to type, Nobody also has a rich yet self-aware underworld of CIA intrigue and the layered Obshak crime syndicate to anchor the violence. This key component is what many John Wick movie clones miss, as, without a world that garners investment from the viewer, prolonged action sequences such as those in Gunpowder Milkshake often feel lacking in emotional substance.
Nobody further differentiates itself from its industry competitors due to its inspired casting choices, which set the film up for a successful franchise. Whereas Netflix fare, such as Kate, sees Mary Elizabeth Winstead charging around like a terminator devoid of emotion, Nobody's Hutch Mansell's story allows a window into his private life, making his character rather endearing despite the unbridled violence he enacts. Hutch is also helped by the inspired casting choice of Bob Odenkirk, who gives a compelling portrayal of a man simmering with tethered rage. In the same way that Reeves' Wick finds a way into hearts through a touching portrait of lost love, Odenkirk's Hutch provides a protagonist worthy of building a franchise around. John Wick's genre-defining time in the sun seems to have blinded filmmakers to other narrative avenues, and Nobody's success where others have failed stems from its ability to pay homage to John Wick rather than attempt to become it.
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