Normal (2026)

The John Wick guy wrote another Bob Odenkirk action movie but it's somehow different than Nobody and Nobody 2

At some point toward the end of his life-changing run as Jimmy McGill on Better Call Saul, Bob Odenkirk decided he wanted to do an action movie.

So, he did. At nearly 60 years old, the comedian starred in the wildly successful Nobody (2021), and last year the sequel, Nobody 2 (2025). Both of those film were scripted by Derek Kolstad, who was coming off of a successful stint as the writer of the first three chapters of the John Wick series.

Odenkirk and Kolstad paired up once again this year for Normal, which hits a lot of the familiar notes of the earlier coupling, but with a base fresh enough to not feel like a cheap carbon copy.

In Normal, Odenkirk is the sheriff of the small town of Normal, Minnesota. Well, the interim sheriff. A hired gun, so to speak, brought in to sit in the chair until the upcoming election will replace the recently deceased man who held the role.

It’s a simple job in a town where the biggest conflicts are breaking up disagreements over prices at the local hardware store, or appeasing a citizen grumpy over how their neighbor parked their truck.

Only, something isn’t quite right. The construction of the new town hall has raised $16 million. The armory in the sheriff’s office has enough gear to wage war. The mayor — played hilariously by Henry Winkler — reeks of corruption.

All hell breaks loose when a couple of small-time robbers try to take down the local bank. Almost immediately, the town’s sinister secrets come to the forefront and put Sheriff Ulysses in the crosshairs of — quite literally — the entire town. Oh, and the Yakuza, too. Yes, really.

The action picks up from there and it’s as entertaining as we’ve come to expect from this genre of film, which is a credit to stunt coordinator Rick Skene, who worked on both Nobody entries, as well as director Ben Wheatley, whose list of credits isn’t exactly ripe with well known features.

At the center of it, though, is Odenkirk, who said that when he decided to give action a shot, he really went all-in, training for a solid two years before filming Nobody. He’s been at this for more than a half-decade now, and it’s still surreal that one half of the duo that brought us Mr. Show is now the king of action comedy.

Whether Normal has the success of the two Nobody films seems unlikely given the commonalities, but I think I enjoyed Normal more, when push comes to shove. Nobody is essentially a John Wick film placed in a different universe and with different vibes.

Normal is more of a slow burn. It takes the time to let you get to know the town and the major players before throwing a stick of dynamite amid a circle of unsuspecting bystanders. It doesn’t reinvent the medium. It doesn’t need to. But it’s a helluva good time.