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Hutch Mansell is back, and he's still full of surprises. Outwardly a mild suburban work-a-daddy, Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) is actually a retired assassin from one of the government's lethal undercover agencies (FBI, CIA, one of those). Most people would never suspect this to look at him, in his cargo shorts and scruffy sandals, but as his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen), says, harking back to the day they first met, "I knew you were dangerous. You were covered in blood."

"Nobody," the first Hutch movie, was a surprise hit four years ago -- a warm-hearted semi-comedy turbo-charged with top-tier action. (Screenwriter Derek Kolstad had worked on the "John Wick" movies, as had producer David Leitch, who codirected the first "Wick" film and now brought in his celebrated stunt company, 87North, to provide state-of-the-art kickassery.) Given "Nobody's" modest budget and impressive box-office returns, a sequel became inevitable.

"Nobody 2" is a quick (89-minute), fun movie, even if it unavoidably lacks the fresh tang of the first film, which gave us the unfamiliar sight of "Better Call Saul" star Odenkirk taking down bad guys in a variety of hyper-violent ways. The story is strained: While on a family vacation, hoping to "make some memories" with his neglected wife and kids, Hutch becomes involved with a smuggling operation in a small, unidentified resort town (the movie was shot in Canada). This allows the filmmakers to stage a multi-thug shootout on a carnival midway and a rousing, more compact melee on an amphibious duck boat rolling down a river (one of the picture's most resourcefully choreographed scenes). New series director Timo Tjahjanto, an Indonesian action ace, stages this latter slugfest, which couldn't have been easy to shoot, with limber camera work and exceedingly tight editing. (He also provides an amusingly alarming shot of a boat anchor being put to unusually painful use.)

The picture benefits from the return of some key players from the first film, among them Christopher Lloyd as Hutch's codger father, David, a former FBI agent himself, and producer/actor/Wu-Tang mainman RZA, back aboard as Hutch's adopted brother Harry, who can do serious slice-and-dice damage with a Japanese katana. Gage Munroe and Paisley Cadorath are also on hand again as Hutch's kids, Brady and Sammy. (Brady's aptitude for head-knocking -- the family business -- suggests the promising possibility of another sequel.)

There are some new characters, too, of course, but not all of them are especially memorable. John Ortiz, a veteran supporting actor, is fine as a small-town underboss, adding more heart to the film with family problems of his own. But Colin Hanks as a corrupt sheriff, even striving to project menace under a weird haircut, is still a little too bland to be persuasive. And most problematic, if you ask me, is the fearless Sharon Stone, who doesn't just chew the scenery here as the top villain -- she all but swallows it whole. (There's also one puzzling story element -- a cash bonfire that's virtually repeated from the first movie.)

Nevertheless, despite its shortcomings, the movie gets over on the charm of its main cast, especially Odenkirk, who could probably take his career in any direction at this point -- he seems unlikely to be making a false move of any sort on a screen of any size anytime soon.

To find out more about Kurt Loder and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at www.creators.com.

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