Normal (2026) Magnolia/Action RT: 90 minutes Rated R (strong bloody violence and language) Director: Ben Wheatley Screenplay: Derek Kolstad Music: Harry Gregson-Williams and Ryder McNair Cinematographer: Armando Salas Release date: April 17, 2026 (US) Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler, Lena Headey, Reena Jolly, Brendan Fletcher, Ryan Allen, Billy MacLellan, Peter Shinkoda, Jess McLeod, Alex MacMillan, Dan De Jaeger, John C. MacDonald, David Lawrence Brown, Derek Barnes, Megan MacArton, Carson Nattrass.
Rating: ***
It might interest some of you to know that Normal was written by Derek Kolstad, the same guy who wrote the first three John Wick movies and both Nobody movies. That explains a lot.
Directed by Ben Wheatley (Free Fire), Normal is anything but normal. The title actually refers to the small Minnesota town where everything goes down. It’s called Normal and it definitely looks that way on the surface. But much like the town of Lumberton (in Blue Velvet), there’s something sinister lurking beneath it.
Interim Sheriff Ulysses (Odenkirk, Nobody 1 & 2) has come to Normal to fill in for the previous sheriff who died suddenly under questionable circumstances. The townspeople seem friendly enough. He has pleasant interactions with them. He gets along okay with his deputies, even the one (Allen, Get Rich or Die Tryin’) gunning for his job. There’s not much going on in the way of major crimes, just parking violations and the occasional dispute between residents. It’s a quiet, boring little town and Ulysses intends to leave it just the way he found it.
One day, the alarm goes off at the bank. It’s being robbed by two people, Lori (Jolly, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever) and Keith (Fletcher, Violent Night), just passing through. The police respond to the scene. When Ulysses attempts to enter the bank to negotiate with the robbers, his own men start shooting at him. It quickly becomes a total fire fight. What gives?
It turns out the whole town, including the mayor (Henry “The Fonz” Winkler), is involved with the Yakuza. They allow the criminal organization to stash money, gold and military-grade weapons in the bank vault. There’s no way they can allow Ulysses to walk away from this. He spends the rest of the movie trying to survive an entire town trying to kill him. To make matters worse, a blizzard has engulfed Normal. The power’s out and there’s no phone service. Basically, the dude is screwed!
Odenkirk, still the most unlikely action hero this side of Anthony Michael Hall (Out of Bounds), commands the screen with quiet, effortless stoicism here. He plays a character who doesn’t like to make waves. He’s just filling in until they appoint the new guy. In addition, he’s dealing with a fractured marriage, leaving his estranged wife voice mails that go unanswered. Predictably, there’s more to Ulysses than originally meets the eye. Something happened that made him become a floater, a lawman who takes temporary positions. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want to stay in one place for too long lest he should get too close to somebody. All this is pushed to the side when the s*** hits the fan. Then he shifts into bad ass mode. Odenkirk sells it just like he did when he was a “Nobody” (twice!).
I like how Normal is structured. It starts off in Japan with a ruthless Yakuza boss sending a couple of guys to Normal after they fail him in some way. They’re the lucky ones. Another guy literally loses his head for his incompetence. The scene then shifts to snowy Normal where life moves at a steady crawl. The film stays like that for a little while. Then the first shots are fired. After that, Normal gets crazy and crazy violent. People are shot, stabbed, beaten, blown up and run over. It all culminates in a huge bloody melee between Yakuza, cops and Ulysses. It’s f***ing INSANE!
Winkler, in too short a role, does a good job as the corrupt mayor of Normal. I wish he had been more involved. The supporting cast also includes Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) as bartender Moira who strikes up a friendship with Ulysses and Jess McLeod (It’s a Wonderful Knife) as Alex, the non-binary, drug-addicted daughter of the late previous sheriff. The rest of the cast is filled by people who look like they could really be small town folks.
The cinematography by Armando Salas is beautifully bleak in how it perfectly captures a sad little town made more depressing by snow. It’s the kind of town with one motel for whoever might be passing through. It’s funny when you consider Normal doesn’t have much of a tourist trade.
I enjoyed Normal immensely. I had a feeling I would. I like both Nobody movies. This one is like Nobody 3 on crack. It really is a lot of good, bloody, insane fun.
