A sheriff gets a temporary job in a small and quiet town in Minnesota, but when a bank robbery happens, its dark secret comes to the surface.
Great fun for… most of the family.
If you have watched the trailer, you already know roughly what you are getting into: shootings, explosions, absurd violence, escalating chaos, and all of it unfolding in the least likely town imaginable. The real question is not what happens… It is why.
And that mystery becomes the film’s strongest hook. Director Ben Wheatley, the man behind the explosive Free Fire (2016), the fascinatingly strange In the Earth (2021): https://kaygazpro.com/in-the-earth-2021-horror-sci-fi-thriller/, and one of my favourite British horrors, Kill List (2011) – yes, we are politely leaving Meg 2: The Trench (2023) out of this conversation – fully controls cinematic momentum. From the opening moments, Normal advances the narrative with confidence, balancing action, mystery, and comedy with ease.
The pacing is one of the film’s greatest strengths. The editing knows exactly when to accelerate and when to breathe, preventing the narrative from ever feeling stagnant. There is always another reveal, another confrontation, another explosion waiting around the corner. And then, it is Bob Odenkirk, who once again proves that his ability to combine exhaustion, sarcasm, vulnerability, and absolute chaos remains endlessly entertaining.
Now to the “why.” Written by Derek Kolstad, the man behind the John Wick universe, Nobody (2021): https://kaygazpro.com/nobody-2021-action-crime-drama/, and Nobody 2 (2025): https://kaygazpro.com/nobody-2-2025/ (review made last night), the film cleverly blends Eastern and Western influences into a story full of eccentric characters, escalating suspense, and charming unpredictability. Kolstad and Odenkirk co-write a script that prioritises entertainment above all else. Are there believability issues? Absolutely. But the film is so enjoyable that you willingly forgive whatever logic gets blown up alongside the buildings.
And that is precisely the point. There are no heavy-handed morals here. No deeper parables demanding interpretation. Wheatley, Kolstad, and Odenkirk simply want audiences to have fun for ninety minutes and momentarily forget the madness outside the cinema walls. This is the third action-packed film of Odenkirk, backed by Kolstad, and who knows if they are going to do it again.
Regardless, the result feels almost like an American cousin of Hot Fuzz (2007), infused with more bullets and deaths. Lena Headey, Ryan Allen, Billy MacLellan, Reena Jolly, Henry Winkler, and the rest of the cast do an amazing job of supporting the escalating chaos.
And from your seats, so should you.
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