NORMAL – Review by April Neale
There is nothing “normal” about watching Bob Odenkirk get absolutely wrecked for over 90 minutes and somehow make it feel like a triumph.
In Normal, Odenkirk continues his unlikely evolution from comedy icon to battered, bruised, and deeply compelling action lead. What once felt like a surprising detour now plays like a fully realized reinvention. This is not a guy who suddenly became an action star. This is a performer who fused comedy and drama into a new character that feels unexpectedly essential. And yes, he still gets the hell kicked out of him.
Odenkirk’s Ulysses is not built like a traditional hero, and that is precisely the appeal. He is underestimated at every turn, dropped into a job no one expects him to survive. He is the guy hired because he looks like he will fail. Odenkirk has never been better, even post Better Call Saul. His core sense of right and wrong emerges, and endears him to an audience wondering what his next move will be.
The performances within this quirky action flick blend sharp comedic timing with lived-in dramatic weight, landing somewhere between the tonal unease of Fargo and the kinetic brutality of John Wick. It is a fusion that gives Normal its edge, balancing absurdity and violence in a way that feels both chaotic and deliberate. It is no wonder you feel like you are watching a glorious melding of those two mentioned films, as director Ben Wheatley has lensed a pastiche of midwestern mayhem written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad from a story reportedly cooked up by Kolstad and Odenkirk, a modern neo-Western with witty writing, heart stopping action and a phantom moose who appears almost like a vision of Minnesotan justice and reminder of “Minnesota nice.” That moose is more than nature making a rare appearance; it lingers in frame, as the viewer takes in the random visions of majesty it certainly holds, which can inspire one to do right.
The town of Normal, Minnesota, sells itself as quaint and forgettable. Population barely pushing 2,000. A place where nothing happens. Except everything already has. The warning signs for a midwestern noir yarn are everywhere. An overabundance of firearms. A sheriff who died under questionable circumstances. A mayor, played with an unctuous and slippery charm by Henry Winkler, who feels just a little too comfortable in the gray areas. Even the recurring bull moose feels like a signal that something is off kilter in this town. Winkler playing a heavy is a delicious change-up for a man who has played more than his fair share of nice guys and sympathetic sorts in his long career. He’s terrific as Mayor Kibner and well cast.
As we watch, we see Normal’s real soul start to emerge, a town clinging to the illusion of normalcy while quietly unraveling, shaped by desperation and outside influence. Survival came at a cost. The bill has come due from outside evil forces.
No one captures that better than Lena Headey as the town’s barkeep. Headey is no stranger to lethal female roles.
She plays her role with disarming warmth at first, a seemingly sympathetic presence in a place that feels increasingly hostile. That ease is a façade. Headey peels it back with precision, revealing a calculating force underneath. It is a reminder that in Normal, danger rarely announces itself. It smiles. It pours you a drink. It makes you feel safe right up until you are not.
Wheatley leans into sustained, escalating action, most notably in a sprawling firefight that turns the entire town into a battleground. It is sloppy, loud, and often brutal. What makes it work is how grounded it feels. Ulysses is not a super soldier. When he picks up heavier weapons, it feels like a risk, not a natural flex. Every fight scene is scrappy. Every win comes at a cost. The violence is not clean. It is desperate and shockingly visceral.
And that desperation is exactly what keeps the film engaging.
At the center of that chaos is an emotional and narrative pivot that gives Normal its future. The late sheriff’s daughter, initially positioned as an outsider, becomes something far more important. She evolves into Ulysses’ unexpected partner in exposing and fighting the town’s corruption. Their dynamic shifts the story from survival to alliance. It also lays the groundwork for what comes next.
By the film’s end, the bleak, blood-soaked, grey-white snow-covered cold of Normal gives way to something warmer. The two have migrated on, still in law enforcement, still carrying scars, but now operating as a team. It is a tonal shift that feels earned and quietly optimistic.
Normal is a bone-crunching, darkly funny action film that understands exactly what makes Bob Odenkirk such a compelling presence. He was never the obvious choice. That is why he works. The balance struck by the writer, the relentless action, and his very real imperfections create something rare. An everyman hero who bleeds, struggles, and still pushes forward. Paired with a partner who proves just as capable, the film hints at something bigger.
Not just a sequel, but a franchise built on relatable heroes who don’t wear prosthetic makeup or tights, rooted in everyday smalltown, USA, as we feel helpless watching our country drowning in unchecked graft and corruption.
