Despite the many talents he’s demonstrated over decades of acting and performing, I’m pretty sure that Bob Odenkirk would not actually be able to save a small town in Minnesota if it were to come under attack from within as it does in “Normal.” However, after watching director Ben Wheatley’s joyous action bonanza, I’m open to being convinced that the one-of-a-kind actor could probably make a good go of it all the same.
Not only is this because Odenkirk is just such a compelling and comedic screen presence in everything he does, but he’s also made himself into a believable action star at the same time. As “Normal” is a film that requires him to use all his charisma as well as his fists, cracking dry jokes in the beginning before cracking skulls in all else moving forward after that, anything less could kill the fun of the whole experience.
Though there is indeed much killing in this absurd action thrillride, Odenkirk never lets the life of the movie die out for even a second. It’s no “Kill List,” which is still Wheatley’s best, but it comes close in enough moments to make you sit up in your seat. While it can drag a bit in getting to the main event — a gruesome battle for the soul of said small Minnesota town that makes “Eddington” look quaint — once it finds its feet and starts swinging, you’re along for the ride.
The film kicks off in earnest with some folksy narration from Odenkirk’s Sheriff Ulysses, a provisional holder of the post after the last man to hold it died mysteriously, where he outlines his outlook on his place in the town and what it is we need to know. A hard-boiled figure of sorts, his life philosophy boils down to not getting too involved in much of anything because of a past trauma that gets teased out. If he can leave the town how he found it, that will be just fine by him.
The only problem is there is much else going on in the titular town of Normal that he wasn’t aware of going in. After getting to know the seemingly nice local characters, he’ll have to do battle with nearly all of them when he attempts to peacefully resolve a bank robbery that threatens to expose the town’s darkest secrets. Though they all initially smile at the sheriff as he drives through town each morning, we learn that they would all kill him to make sure their secrets stay hidden.
Thus, after forming an unlikely alliance with the desperate bank robbers, Ulysses takes the fight to those looking to take him down. And my goodness what fun Wheatley has with unleashing Odenkirk. Along with his stellar stunt team, some generally tactile camera work and a real commitment from Odenkirk to embody the affable temp sheriff, the filmmaker crafts a solid action movie that never once skimps on the fundamentals. As day turns to night in Normal and Ulysses must stop the swarm of people he used to think were community members who care à la “Fargo” though are actually more akin to the murderous goons of “Die Hard,” the goofy gets smashed together with the gore.
In one strong action sequence after another, an unflappable and earnest Odenkirk totally sells us on the little details that matter a whole hell of a lot in the big picture. You can see his wheels turning when he’s thinking up a new plan just as you see rage consuming him when he must launch into appropriately crunchy hand-to-hand combat to get out in one piece.
The film continually finds clever ways to up the stakes and give Odenkirk new weapons to wield, including vehicles, explosives, guns and basically anything he can get his hands on. Wheatley makes the most of the confined, snowbound setting, offering fun payoffs in how nearly everything we saw in the opening act becomes a tool of destruction. Much as is the case for Ulysses, necessity is the mother of invention for the film and all the limitations only work in its favor.
There are some occasional twists of fate that don’t quite add anything to the experience and instead just serve as reminders that there were characters the film nearly forgot about. It doesn’t doom the experience, but it can lead to some brief dull patches. Thankfully, Odenkirk is always there to make a snarky comment and get things back on track.
More than anything, the stuntwork and the way they are all cut together is excellent. The reason you get engaged with “Normal,” even when it is far more grounded and less stylized than something like “John Wick,” is because it’s got all the essentials down. It’s just looking for that extra spark, which it finds not only in a deeply funny and entertaining Odenkirk, but also all the slapstick fights he gets in. That Wheatley then turns everything on its head one more time near the end, creating its most ridiculous shootout in a film never lacking for them, ensures you can’t help smiling as you think, “There goes our old boy Bob, fighting a bunch of people again.”
“Normal” won’t change your life nor does it reinvent the action genre, but it’s got all the right stuff to make you chuckle along just as it dives into the chaos. As long as Odenkirk’s grumpy sheriff has his coffee and mustache intact, he is the key to finding the perfect balance. No matter how many blows the film and he take, the joy in seeing him swing freely makes it all good, family fun. What a beautiful, brutal day it is in Normal, Minnesota.
