Normal (2025) Movie Review: A Fast, Funny Midwest Genre Mashup With Another Great Bob Odenkirk Action Role

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“Normal” (2025) is a film without fat. At 90 minutes, it is constructed efficiently and effectively to hit all the necessary plot beats without a moment spared in excess. That’s not to say that it’s perfect. Some of the stylistic flourishes that Ben Wheatley imbues are contradictory, and many of the twists are too easy to anticipate.

However, the economic, self-aware decision to make an unabashed midnight movie (even if there’s A-list talent involved) is breathtaking, given the self-importance that many studio genre films are. “Normal” doesn’t do very much to invert the formula, but its creative blend of action, horror, suspense, and dark comedy makes for an interesting, nostalgic spectacle.

“Normal” stars Bob Odenkirk as Ulysses, the recently appointed Sheriff of the small town of Normal, Minnesota. Ulysses’ employment is temporary because the previous Sheriff died of a heart attack, and the election for his replacement is impending. Even though he is an outsider, Ulysses is quickly adopted into the community by his fellow police officers and the town’s mayor, Kibner (Henry Winkler).

Although Ulysses has noticed a few strange incidents that raise his suspicions about an enigmatic threat, his duty becomes more dangerous during the midst of a bank robbery. The robbers, Lori (Reena Jolly) and Keith (Brendan Fletcher), may not seem particularly dangerous, but the gravity with which the other law enforcement officers treat the situation suggests that the bank might be holding a valuable asset.

Normal (2025) — A still from “Normal” (2025)

The influences on Wheatley are clear. There’s the quirky Minnesotan comedy of “Fargo,” the single-location siege thrills of “Assault on Precinct 13,” and a relentless style of gunplay that’s reminiscent of many John Woo films. However, Wheatley is a filmmaker whose strength is building tension up until the point that he fully unleashes himself, which is perfect for a contained thriller like “Normal.”

The chunk of the film dedicated to introducing Ulysses to the community doesn’t drag because it’s populated by memorable character actors who each chew the scenery, even if they’re really only given a single defining trait. By the time that the mayhem and bloodshed begin in earnest, “Normal” has established a lived-in world where the (admittedly far-fetched) plot mechanics are somewhat justified.

One of the oddest career pivots in recent years has been Odenkirk’s transition from being a beloved cult comedy legend to the lead of one of TV’s greatest dramas in “Better Call Saul,” followed by a fully-fledged swing into being an action star. If the first “Nobody” film played into the novelty of someone of Odenkirk’s age and sensibilities having his own “John Wick” role, he’s now become a consistent presence in snarky, pulpy action flicks, playing out like a slightly more self-aware version of Liam Neeson.

“Normal” saddles Ulysses with a fairly straightforward backstory, but Odenkirk hasn’t forgotten his dramatic chops. He’s able to fuel the self-loathing of a middle-aged cop who feels he hasn’t made a difference into a fish-out-of-water scenario where he’s placed in the middle of an absurd environment. The “Fargo” parallels come full circle. Odenkirk may have had a much different role as a lazy, disaffected sheriff in the first season of FX’s “Fargo,” but his earnest pragmatism and belief in people are closer to Frances McDormand’s Oscar-winning role in the Coen brothers’ original 1996 classic.

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Odenkirk is not only given a compelling redemptive arc, but has a sense of authority that works perfectly for Wheatley’s idiosyncrasies. The townspeople of Normal feel like a big, chaotic family because of how isolated the town is from the rest of the country (something that the film explains in a clever way).

Odenkirk’s presence as a “normalizing” figure creates friction that is both comedic and used to spark tension, but he’s also tender in the moments that the film tries to earnestly pull on the heartstrings. Wheatley isn’t a particularly sentimental filmmaker, but the bond between Ulysses and Alex (Jess McLeod), the daughter of the previous Sheriff, is enough to make the stakes more involved.

There’s not a false note in the ensemble, even if characters like Lori and Keith are given less to do than the film seems to suggest early on. Although there’s some interesting commentary at first on how current economic situations might cause “normal” people to act more aggressively, they’re ultimately used simply to kick off a series of escalating consequences.

The biggest disappointment is that the film underuses Lena Headey, who plays the frequent bar patron Moira. Headey has a great dynamic that is established with Odenkirk during a mesmerizing scene early on, but their chemistry isn’t taken advantage of by the rest of the film. Although there also may have been some footage left on the table with Mayor Kibner, Winkler has such an inherently silly screen presence that he makes the most of his scenes with Odenkirk. That these two sitcom icons would be playing cat-and-mouse in a stylized action film might have seemed inconceivable three decades prior, but it’s a testament to both Odenkirk and Winkler that they’re able to reinvent themselves.

Wheatley is an obvious legend of the British horror community who has sadly seen a decline in compelling work based on his more commercial projects. In the last decade, “Free Fire,” “Rebecca,” “In the Earth,” and “The Meg 2: The Trench” felt grossly mismatched for the macabre, playfully cold-hearted style his early work epitomized. Even if “Normal” has a more sizable budget and more recognizable faces than his first few cult classics, it is still a homegrown, self-contained mismatch that leans into its exploitation roots. The comic violence may not shock anyone who has seen Wheatley’s other films, but it’s more creative and fulfilling than a standard mid-budget action thriller.

The logic of “Normal” is effective to a point, and any gaps in narrative coherence can be explained as the film not having the time to slow down. It’s the latest script from Derek Kolstad, writer of the “Nobody” films, who has certainly found a way to write to Odenkirk’s strengths. In a perfect world, “Normal” could spawn a mini-franchise that gave Odenkirk a chance to reprise his role in different scenarios. That may not be financially feasible, but “Normal” is still guaranteed to find a cult audience among genre enthusiasts. That might be enough.