Normal (Ben Wheatley, 2026)⭐⭐⭐

"Bob Odenkirk as an unlikely action hero" is a snack jar that Hollywood has double-dipped already via Nobody (Ilya Naishuller, 2021) and its sequel Nobody 2 (Timo Tjajanto, 2025). Normal is co-written by Nobody writer Derek Kolstad and Odenkirk himself so you have to hope this is them refining the formula, right?

Kind of. I was one of the few who thought Nobody 2 was a bit of a limp retread of the original, despite a much bigger stunt budget. Normal takes a slightly different track, with Odenkirk playing Ulyssess, interim sheriff for the town of Normal, Minnesota - a prosperous if rather anodyne small town whose community has apparently raised millions to fund civic improvements despite the state of the national economy.

Clearly, there is something rotten here. Exactly what is exposed when a pair of out-of-towners (Reena Jolly and Brendan Fletcher) attempt a robbery at the town's only bank, triggering a violent response from the rest of the Sheriff's department, who try to kill both the robbers and Ulysses himself under orders from the Yakuza gang who have been using Normal as a place to stash a huge amount of loot, with the full cooperation of basically everyone in town.

Wheatley has toned down his usual quirks a little but he deftly directs some impressive action sequences and a number of the often accidental moments of violence demonstrate his black humour. I did find the accidental nature some of the kills a bit of an issue, though. So much of the plot and the survival of the leads depends on coincidence and complicated, Heath-Robinsonesque chain reactions that at times this felt like something from the Final Destination franchise.

What this film does well play with audience expectations. In particular, the attempt at a peaceful-ish solution to the problem which oh so nearly works until we drift into Final Destination Mousetrap-land once again. Odenkirk is a little more layered than in his other action franchise and plays into the idea that he is just a normal guy rather than a pumped-up killing machine. The supporting cast are mostly good if underused. Lena Heady in particular in a great laid-back femme fatale and Henry Winkler is funny and effective as the Mayor in a role I was convinced would be milked more than it was.

In the end, if you skipped Nobody, this is probably the better film. But, at this point, I might have seen Bob Odenkirk kick enough ass.