Normal Review: A Better Title For Bob Odenkirk’s Latest Action Thriller Is ‘Average’

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It’s become common to see Bob Odenkirk, the 63-year-old star of Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, thriving in action-packed thrillers. With his new film, Normal, it’s clear these intense roles have become a regular part of his career – quite a shift for the actor who first made his name as a comedian.

Bob Odenkirk is perfectly fine in these kinds of roles—at least, I think so, and you might agree—so he’s not the problem with Ben Wheatley’s new thriller. The real issue is the film simply doesn’t have much of a story. Normal is an enjoyable but ultimately lightweight movie that struggles to justify its 91-minute length.

Normal Comes Up With A Clever Premise

Bob Odenkirk’s string of action movies started with 2021’s Nobody and continued with its sequel, Nobody 2. A running joke throughout these films, including Normal, is that Odenkirk plays a seemingly ordinary guy who easily fits in anywhere. But when trouble starts, it’s a surprise to see he’s actually incredibly skilled at handling dangerous situations.

In the series Normal, Bob Odenkirk plays Ulysses Richardson, a man with a hidden past who isn’t a professional killer. He’s a newly assigned sheriff in the quiet, small town of Normal, located in the Midwest. The town is the kind of place where everyone knows everything about everyone else. For the most part, Richardson’s job is pretty easy – mostly dealing with minor issues like parking tickets or small disagreements at the local hardware store – and he’s perfectly content with that.

The movie isn’t very good, but co-writer Derek Kolstad had a clever idea that surprisingly improves it. It turns out the people in the town of Normal are hiding secrets, and being the temporary sheriff will be much more difficult for Richardson than he expected.

Normal Finds Humor In Its Exaggerated Violence And Action

A movie like Normal used to aim for the suspenseful, character-focused action of films like First Blood or Die Hard, where an ordinary person like Odenkirk’s character is thrown into a dangerous fight against powerful enemies and has to rely on their intelligence to survive. However, after the success of John Wick, audiences now expect intense, fast-paced action. Director Ben Wheatley (Free Fire, High-Rise, Kill List) delivers exactly that in this film. While the movie briefly sets up the sheriff’s background and introduces some townspeople, all of that quickly takes a backseat as the action begins.

The action in Normal is incredibly imaginative – which isn’t surprising if you’re familiar with Wheatley’s other work. As the townspeople turn against Odenkirk’s sheriff (for reasons best left undiscovered), he improvises weapons from whatever’s around him, with over-the-top, comedic effects. The film’s style is very similar to the two Nobody movies Odenkirk has already made. You could almost picture the movie being pitched as, “Think of those Nobody films, but with a little twist.”

The movie is perfectly enjoyable as long as it keeps things interesting. However, even at just 91 minutes—the shortest length to be considered a film—it starts to lose momentum with about 15 minutes remaining. The bizarre final storyline feels like it was saved for a sequel instead of being fully developed here.

I was so relieved to see Bob Odenkirk doing so well in Normal! It really solidified my belief that he has plenty more of these surprisingly cool action roles left in him. While I truly love him in supporting roles – he’s fantastic in things like The Post, Nebraska, The Bear, and anything Vince Gilligan touches – Normal really suits him too. I just hope that if he does more of these, the stories are a little more developed. Ninety minutes feels like the right length for a film like this, and a stronger script would really make the next one shine.

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2026-04-19 13:08