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Movie Guy – Bloody fun in a not so “Normal” town
Published 2:47 pm Friday, April 17, 2026
“Normal”
Films
Directed by Ben Wheatley
Rated R
Starring Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler, Lena Heady, Rena Jolly, Brendan Fletcher, Ryan Allen and Billy McLellan
3 stars
Who would have thought back in the day when comedian Bob Odenkirk was working as a writer on “Saturday Night Live, “that he would go on to become one of the more reliable action heroes working in Hollywood today?
It’s an unlikely-but-true career trajectory, as evidenced by the release of his latest crowd-pleasing action movie, “Normal.” As was the case in his “Nobody” movies, Odenkirk plays a character who looks like a regular guy at first glance, but when bad guys attack, he turns into a lean, mean fighting machine.
In this case, Odenkirk plays Ulysses, the lawman who is temporarily hired to patrol the town of Normal, Minnesota following the death of the former Sheriff. He seems like a guy who is just there to collect a paycheck, but that all changes after two drifters (Rena Jolly and Brendan Fletcher) try to rob the local bank.
The robbery goes wrong, but when Ulysses enters the bank, he finds himself under attack by his own deputies. It turns out that the seemingly normal citizens of Normal are harboring dark secrets that put the sheriff in grave danger. I won’t spoil that secret except to say that an army of assassins descends on the town, and Ulysses is forced to fight for his life in one very satisfying shoot out after another.
The action dominates the second half of this 90-minute movie, but not until after we get a quick introduction where the Sheriff meets the mayor (Henry Winkler) and a mysterious bartender (Lena Heady). You can sense that something isn’t quite right in Normal, so the opening has an intriguing mystery that piques your interest while it sets up the oncoming bloodbath.
Cue the bank robbery and the subsequent action sequences. These are all very bloody, and very well-staged. Fans of action movies will find plenty of reason to cheer in the final hour of this movie. And if that’s not enough, Odenkirk peppers the carnage with fun moments of dark humor. I won’t say that it’s an all-time action movie great, but there is certainly enough here to keep the fans satisfied.
Perhaps that’s because “Normal” is written by Derek Kolstad, the man behind several of the “John Wick” movies. I don’t think that “Normal” rises to that level as an action movie, but it’s apparent that Kolstad knows how to create relatable characters and thrilling action sequences.
It’s also apparent that Odenkirk is having a blast playing these unexpected action heroes. This is a male empowerment fantasy, along the lines of recent films from Liam Neeson and Gerard Butler. These stories aren’t very believable in hindsight, but for those dads in the audience who are still convinced that they could be an action hero if pressed into service, “Normal” is a thoroughly satisfying fantasy.
“Normal” is lean, filled with thrilling action and anchored by an enjoyable action hero lead. It is a lot of crowd-pleasing fun, something that is sadly not normal in many movies these days.
Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published each week in The Port Arthur News and The Orange Leader. Sean welcomes your comments via email at [email protected] You can get more of Sean’s reviews by subscribing to the 2 Movie Guys podcast.
