Summary
Before Timo Tjahjanto directs Bob Odenkirk in the highly anticipatedNobody 2, it’s the perfect time to check out the filmmaker’s criminally underrated action thriller on Netflix. WithBetter Call Saul’s Odenkirk in the lead role, playing a seemingly ordinary suburban family guy who turns out to have a dark history of government wetwork,Nobodyoffered a fresh perspective on the action genre. A sequel toNobodyhas been in the works since it arrived as a sleeper hit in 2021. Despite being released at the tail end of the pandemic, it made a minor splash at the box office.
In the past few months, work onNobody 2has finally gotten underway. Odenkirk is reprising his role as Hutch as well as writing the script with Aaron Rabin, Umair Aleem, and original writer Derek Kolstad. Connie Nielsen will reprise her role as Hutch’s wife Becca andSharon Stone has been cast asNobody 2’s villain. While the first movie was directed by Ilya Naishuller,Timo Tjahjanto is taking over the director’s chair for the sequel. Tjahjanto has more than proven his action filmmaking chops with his underappreciated Netflix action thrillerThe Night Comes for Us.
Before Being Hired For Nobody 2, Timo Tjahjanto Wrote & Directed Netflix’s The Night Comes For Us
The Night Comes for Us is Tjahjanto’s calling card
Before being tapped to directNobody 2, Tjahjanto was already one of Indonesian cinema’s most renowned filmmakers in the action and horror genres. He directed segments of the horror anthology moviesV/H/S/2,V/H/S/94, andThe ABCs of Death, and wrote and directed the horror featureMay the Devil Take Youand its sequelMay the Devil Take You Too. His most recent directorial effort was the 2022 action comedyThe Big 4, about four retired assassins who return to action when they cross paths with a by-the-book detective on the trail of an elusive killer.
In addition to his solo directing work, Tjahjanto is also one half of the filmmaking duo The Mo Brothers with his friend and collaborator Kimo Stamboel. Together, they’ve co-directed the 2009 slasherMacabre, the 2014 neo-noir thrillerKillers, and the 2016 action filmHeadshot. Tjahjanto has a diverse portfolio of work under his belt, butarguably his finest movie – and the one that makes him a perfect choice to direct Odenkirk in theNobodysequel – is 2018’sThe Night Comes for Us.
The Night Comes For Us Is One Of The Most Brutal Action Movies Ever Made
Tjahjanto’s Netflix actioner is uncompromisingly bloody
The Night Comes for Usstars Joe Taslimas Ito, a ruthless enforcer for the Six Seas Triad. In the opening scene, Ito and his fellow enforcers massacre an entire village as retaliation for a couple of the villagers stealing Triad drugs. Ito is sent to execute the last remaining survivor, a little girl named Reina, but he can’t bring himself to pull the trigger, so he kills the other enforcers instead. He takes Reina under his wing and they go on the run as the Triad sends legions of assassins and corrupt cops after them.
Ito calls in all the surviving members of his old gang to help hold off the cavalry.The Night Comes for Usis a no-holds-barred thrill-ride. Every big set-piece sees dozens of persistent knife-wielding goons slashing away at the heroes; they narrowly escape death at every turn.It’s an uncompromisingly brutal, blood-soaked movie that crosses lines that few movies dare to cross; even Reina gets in on the action, stabbing a henchman to death as he tries to grab her through a car window.The Night Comes for Usis gorier than anySawmovie– it’s not for the faint-hearted.
The Night Comes For Us Is Surprisingly Emotional
It’s a very violent movie, but it’s really a father-daughter story
With relentlessly bloody action sequences and zero plot armor for the heroes,The Night Comes for Usis one of the most violent movies ever made. But underneath all the bloodshed, it’s actually a surprisingly emotional movie:Ito and Reina develop a makeshift father-daughter dynamic that’s really heartwarming. It’s a classic example ofthe “Lone Wolf and Cub” trope(or “Badass and Child” trope, as it’s better known). LikeSafe,Logan,Aliens,Children of Men,The Mandalorian, andLéon: The Professional,it explores the themes of parental love and protectiveness in the context of a high-octane action thriller.
Along withThe Raid,John Wick, andBrawl in Cell Block 99,The Night Comes for Usfalls into a recent subgenre of action cinema that combines the thrills of fistfights and shootouts with the gnarly, blood-drenched violence of horror films. But whatThe Night Comes for Ushas that those other movies don’t have is a sweet emotional core. It’s about the unrestrained brutality of the Triad, but it’s also about a father figure’s love for his surrogate daughter. Suffice to say,Nobody 2is in safe hands.
The Night Comes For Us
Cast
The Night Comes For Us is a 2018 Indonesian action thriller film that follows Ito, a former triad enforcer, who must protect a young girl from a gang of assassins while on the run in Jakarta. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto, the film features a high-octane mix of martial arts and gunfights as Ito faces off against his former allies.
